Stress on the Body-Men vs. Women

Stress on the Body-Men vs. Women

In their article, Kuperman, Weiss, Dine, Staikin, Golani, Ramot, and Nahum explore how stress impacts females and males differently. The article explores a study that revealed that a receptor found in the brain controls metabolic responses triggered by stressful situations differently in female and male mice. The researchers studied the hypothalamus, which serves numerous functions, some of which involve adjusting the stressful situations, regulating energy levels and blood glucose production, and controlling hunger. When a person suffers from stress, the cells located in the hypothalamus increase the production of a receptor called CRFRI. This is the receptor that makes a significant contribution in the activation of sympathetic nerve network that serves as a stress-response. The outcome of this process includes an increase in heart rate. In this study, the researchers removed the CRFRI receptor from mice. They observed how the removal of the CRFR1 receptor would affect mice’s bodily functions. When the mice without the CRFR1 receptor were exposed to the hunger or cold, their body temperature dropped rapidly. However, the dramatic drop in temperature only occurred in female mice. The researchers believed that fasting triggers the brain to send a signal to the liver instructing it to produce glucose. The hungry female mice that were missing CRFR receptors suffered a significant decrease in the amount of glucose in their lives. The results of this study explain why women have a higher predisposition to suffering from eating disorders (Kuperman et al.).

The article by Taylor, Makarem, Shimbo, and Aggarwal explores the extent to which gender influences the relationship between stress and the risk factors and outcomes associated with cardiovascular outcomes. This study was inspired by existing statistics that have revealed that there exist gender differences when it comes to the prevalence of stress as well as the extent to which cardiovascular diseases impact individuals with these conditions depending on whether they are men or women. Prior research established that psychological stress is a major risk factor as far as cardiovascular diseases are concerned. However, the extent to which stress impacts the risks and outcomes of cardiovascular disease in women and men remained unknown. It is this gap in research that the current study sought to fill. This article establishes that stress is linked to poor cardiovascular health metrics in both women and men. However, the extent to which stress influences measures of dyslipidemia and glucose regulations and the overall cardiovascular risks is weaker in men in comparison to women. At the same time, the article under review revealed that stress increases the risks of men being predisposed to higher blood pressure and body adiposity, as well as the chances of dying from cardiovascular diseases. The other finding from this study is that stress is strongly associated with diet quality and quantity among women than men. At the same time, this study revealed that stress influences the extent to which sleep and sedentary behaviors expose men to the risks of not only suffering from cardiovascular diseases but also the negative outcomes associated with these diseases. The results of this study can help in designing gender-specific interventions as far as reducing the implications of cardiovascular diseases on the population is concerned. For instance, interventions aimed at increasing the chances of men exercising may work better when it comes to reducing the chances of this group of persons suffering from cardiovascular disease in comparison to diet-based approaches. On the other hand, diet-based strategies may work better for women than men (Taylor et al.).

Response

I agree with the assertions made by the two articles explored above. Stress is one of the causes of many problems, such as eating disorders. This is because depressed persons usually turn to food for solace. When I was younger, I used to turn to food whenever I was dealing with stressful events, for instance, after losing a loved one to death. Another point discussed in the articles explored in this research paper is that stress may result in lower glucose levels in the liver. This may explain the signs associated with being stressed, such as headaches, low energy, and frequent colds. I have personal experience of suffering from low energy levels whenever I suffer from stress. Whenever I am stressed, I usually lack the zeal to wake up, study, or even complete personal chores such as cleaning my apartment or preparing meals. However, I had never realized the mechanism in which stress work to cause these symptoms. Additionally, I have noted that there are more deaths associated with cardiovascular diseases in men than women. In my life, I have encountered many women with cardiovascular diseases who live longer with proper medications. On the other hand, the men I know with these diseases tend to succumb to their ailments sooner than their female counterparts. However, I had not realized how stress exposes men to more negative outcomes as far as cardiovascular outcomes, such as the risk of suffering from this disease and even succumbing to it. I think that gender-specific interventions may work in reducing the prevalence of conditions associated with stress.

To sum up, this paper has demonstrated that stress impact women and men differently.  Stress may expose people to certain conditions. At the same time, it may impact the extent to which certain illnesses affect people suffering from them. One way in which stress affects people is by negatively impacting their glucose levels. Experimental studies using mice have revealed that women may be predisposed to experiencing low glucose levels in their livers when they are going through stressful situations such as hunger or cold. This means that women are more predisposed to eating disorders when they are stressed. At the same time, this paper has revealed that stress increases the risks of people having cardiovascular diseases. However, the extent and manner in which stress increases the risk of individuals suffering from cardiovascular diseases differ from one individual to the other depending on one’s gender. On this note, stress has severe impacts on glucose regulations and dyslipidemia in women in comparison to men. At the same time, being stressed is likely to result in men having higher than usual body adiposity and blood pressure than women. This means that stressed women should check their diet more carefully as a way of preventing themselves from suffering from the negative outcomes associated with cardiovascular diseases. While stressed women should be careful of the food they take, their male counterparts need to check their physical activity levels in a bid to control their glucose levels.