The Impact of Stress on Pressure Ulcer Wound Healing Process and on the Psychophysiological Environment of the Individual Suffering from them

INTRODUCTION: The occurrence of a pressure ulcer constitutes a major psychological and physiological burden and it has been linked with a reduced quality of life and increased stress of the individual. OBJECTIVE: The main objective was to investigate the impact that stress has on pressure ulcer healing process and on the psychophysiological environment of the individual suffering from them. METHOD: The scientific literature was reviewed through Cinahl, Pub-med, EBSCO, Medline and Google scholar. The articles were chosen due to their direct correlation with the objective under study and their scientific relevance. RESULTS: Increased stress has been demonstrated to increase the glucocorticoids levels affecting negatively the production of wound healing cytokines (IL1α, IL1β and TNFα). Matrix metalloproteases has been identified to be unregulated in occasions of increased stress in acute wounds. Stress has also been correlated with poor health behaviors that may not have a direct link on the wound healing process, although they can in part explain or enhance some of the effects of stress on wound healing. CONCLUSION: The correlation between stress and wound healing in acute wounds has been thoroughly investigated and its negative effects have been established. The presence of a pressure ulcer can have a detrimental impact on the stress level of an individual although further investigation is needed to establish the role of stress in chronic wounds such as pressure ulcers.