Environmental and occupational stress and autoimmunity

The immune system and the neuroendocrine system machinery modulate each other, including life events-induced stresses and interpersonal conflicts, promoting the synthesis of proinflammatory cytokines, overproduction of which influence behaviour. In addition, the balance of systemic and local pro-inflammatory cytokines to systemic and local anti-inflammatory cytokines, is impaired to such an extent that, in genetically-predisposed individuals, this aberrancy may lead to autoimmune diseases. Occupational stress likely influences their onset. For example, subclinical autoimmune hypothyroidism has been identified in numerous shift-workers of an Italian hospital. Such a threat impacts the policy of health surveillance of the workers and requires dedication of further studies to the relationship between occupational stress and autoimmunity. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.