Impacts Of Chronic Stress On Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a disease caused by an excess of blood glucose and insulin resistance in the body. Stress, which is any reaction the body has to environmental changes that threaten its homeostasis, causes the release of hormones such as cortisol. Extended periods of stress from weeks to months, called chronic stress, result in abnormally high levels of glucose, -cell death, and insulin resistance which are all associated with T2D. We were interested in modeling the connection between chronic stress and diabetes. We modified an existing model to analyze the relationship between glucose, insulin, and stress. Then we merged the modified model with an existing model on the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) Axis that describes cortisol levels under chronic stress. Finally, with the merged model, we examined the response of glucose, insulin, and -cell mass to periodic intervals of stress over extended periods of time.