The study of stress and disease: some developments and requirements.

This article considers the study of stress in relation to the onset, course, and outcomes of disease, and is divided into three parts. The first part describes the relationships between personality, environmental stressors, and disease. The second focuses specifically on the requirements that must be fulfilled to allow for the conclusion that there is a relationship between stress and the onset of disease. Finally, in the third part models describing the relationship between stress and the course of disease or medical outcome are presented and discussed.