The Study
Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal dysregulation and psychological distress in Crohn’s disease: Insights from acute and chronic stress responses
This study looked at people with Crohn’s disease and noticed they often felt more stressed and had lower stress hormones than some other groups. But it didn’t change anything or assign people randomly — so we can’t say Crohn’s causes the stress. It just shows they happen together.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
This study looked at how the body’s stress system works in people with Crohn’s disease compared to others.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 538 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — lower stress hormones may mean the body isn’t responding properly to long-term stress, and most patients feel very anxious or stressed, which could make their illness worse.
- 2People with Crohn’s had lower long-term stress hormones (hair cortisol: 6.375 vs 9.643), 58% felt high stress, 27% had severe anxiety, and 24% had severe depression.
- 3Worse symptoms, smoking, and low blood count were linked to more stress.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
World Journal of Psychiatry
Year
2026
Authors
Effrosini Laoudi, Demetra Papalouka, G. Kokkotis, M. Gkizis, A. Mantzou, G. Lyrakos, P. Markopoulos, P. Prapa, T. Voulgaris, J. Vlachogiannakos, I. Papaconstantinou, G. Bamias
Related Content
Claims (10)
Prolonged psychological stress increases the severity of autoimmune disease activity by maintaining high levels of stress hormones in the body.
Prolonged stress-related hormonal signaling can reduce the ability of the immune system to maintain balance, which may lead to a higher likelihood of autoimmune conditions.
In a group of people with Crohn’s disease, 58% had high stress, 27% had severe or extremely severe anxiety, and 24% had severe or extremely severe depression, based on a standardized psychological questionnaire.
In people with Crohn’s disease, those with more active disease symptoms, who smoke, or who have lower hemoglobin levels tend to report higher levels of stress and anxiety.
People with Crohn’s disease have lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in their hair compared to people without the disease, suggesting their stress response system is less active under long-term stress.
Among patients with Crohn’s disease, 58% report elevated stress and 27% report severe anxiety, compared to 53% and 37% respectively among cancer patients.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.