Stress as the basis of polymorbidity and ways to correct it in the early stages

Abstract

Stress is an integral part of every person’s daily personal and work life, and one of the important factors affecting health and longevity. Excessive or prolonged stress, exceeding natural regulatory capabilities and adaptive resources of the body, leads to changes in homeostasis and a wide range of problems, including metabolic syndrome, obesity, mental disorders, cardiovascular disease, etc. Given that stress in this context acts as a risk factor for these conditions, and they can be combined in a patient, it can be seen as the basis for the development of polymorbidity. Polymorbidity, the combination of two or more diseases in a patient, is currently regarded as one of the most serious problems of modern medicine, requiring from the doctor in-depth knowledge in various interdisciplinary areas. Polymorbidity is associated with more frequent use of medical care, lower quality of life, and a higher risk of premature mortality. In this regard, understanding the pathophysiology of stress and knowing how to correct it early is an urgent medical challenge that needs to be solved. The present work gives a brief overview of the organization and (patho-)physiology of the human stress system, discusses the role of stress in the development of polymorbidity, in particular its cardiometabolic phenotype, using the example of the relationship between acute and chronic psychological stress and the development of cardiovascular disease, describes ways of stress management in the early stages, including the use of the combined drug phenobarbital and ethylbromizovalerianate with a multimodal spectrum of action.