(Nature) – Better stress assessment and tailored interventions could give clinicians the tools they need to fend off lasting damage.

Decades of research have shown that, although short bursts of stress can be healthy, unrelenting stress contributes to heart disease, cancer, stroke, respiratory disorders, suicide and other leading causes of death. In some cases, prolonged stress drives the onset of a health problem. In others, it accelerates a disease — or induces unhealthy coping behaviours that contribute to chronic conditions.

Stress also seems to be on the rise. It increased globally during the recession of 2007 to 2009 and the COVID-19 pandemic, says David Almeida, a developmental psychologist at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, who studies historical shifts in stress as well as everyday stressors. Polls show that globally, including in the United States, stress hasn’t gone back down to previous levels. (Read More)