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World J Gastrointest Pathophysiol. Nov 15, 2013; 4(4): 108-118
Published online Nov 15, 2013. doi: 10.4291/wjgp.v4.i4.108
Effects of occupational stress on the gastrointestinal tract
María-Raquel Huerta-Franco, Miguel Vargas-Luna, Paola Tienda, Isabel Delgadillo-Holtfort, Marco Balleza-Ordaz, Corina Flores-Hernandez
María-Raquel Huerta-Franco, Paola Tienda, Corina Flores-Hernandez, Department of Applied Science and Labor Research, DCS Campus Leon, University of Guanajuato, Leon, CP 37320, Mexico
Miguel Vargas-Luna, Isabel Delgadillo-Holtfort, Marco Balleza-Ordaz, Department of Physical Engineering, DCI, Campus Leon, University of Guanajuato Loma del Bosque, Leon, CP 37150, Mexico
Author contributions: Huerta-Franco MR and Vargas-Luna M evaluated, designed and conducted the study and wrote the manuscript; Tienda P, Delgadillo-Holtfort I, Flores-Hernandez C and Balleza-Ordaz M contributed to the data collection, reviewed the literature and provided analytic input.
Supported by Dirección de Apoyo a la Investigación y al Posgrado (DAIP); University of Guanajuato (2012-2013); and Programa Integral de Fortalecimiento Institucional (PIFI-SEP) 2012
Correspondence to: Maria-Raquel Huerta-Franco, PhD, Department of Applied Science and Labor Research, DCS Campus Leon, University of Guanajuato, Aquiles Serdan No. 924, Colonia Obregon, Leon, CP 37150, Guanajuato, Mexico. huertafranco@hotmail.com
Telephone: +52-477-2569688 Fax: +52-477-7885100
Received: July 2, 2013
Revised: September 12, 2013
Accepted: October 16, 2013
Published online: November 15, 2013
Processing time: 135 Days and 22.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core tip: In workers, the combination of personality patterns (anxiety/depression), stress and negative emotions contribute to gastrointestinal tract (GIT) alterations. In particular, jobs that produce privation, fatigue, chronic mental anxiety and a long past history of tension, frustration, resentment, psychological disturbance or emotional conflict have been shown to produce gastric ulcers. Irritable bowel syndrome and functional dyspepsia also have significant co-morbidity with mood alterations. Workers with unipolar depression have been shown to be more prone to present irritable bowel syndrome-like symptoms. Moreover, three systems are known to participate in the GIT alterations of workers: sympathetic autonomic nervous system, the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and genetic factors.