Resumo
Introdução: A ansiedade é um transtorno caracterizado por sentimentos intensos de medo, preocupação, nervosismo e angústia, geralmente associados à antecipação de uma ameaça. Evidências científicas indicam que níveis elevados de ansiedade podem comprometer a resposta imunológica, alterando parâmetros fisiológicos e aumentando a susceptibilidade a doenças relacionadas ao sistema imune.
Objetivo: Este estudo teve como objetivo investigar os impactos da ansiedade sobre o sistema imunológico por meio de uma revisão sistemática da literatura. As buscas foram realizadas nas bases PubMed, ScienceDirect e Scopus, incluindo estudos originais publicados nos últimos dez anos, em português ou inglês, conduzidos com seres humanos e que avaliassem parâmetros imunológicos relacionados a ansiedade. A qualidade metodológica e o risco de viés foram avaliados conforme as ferramentas do Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI).
Resultados: Após a aplicação dos critérios de elegibilidade, foram incluídos 16 artigos, cuja análise demonstrou que a ansiedade exerce influência negativa sobre parâmetros imunológicos e hormonais. Observou-se aumento de citocinas inflamatórias, elevação de linfócitos circulantes e incremento dos hormônios cortisol e ACTH, evidenciando a ativação do eixo hipotálamo-hipófise-adrenal (HPA). Além disso, verificou-se associação entre ansiedade e elevação da proteína C reativa (PCR), sugerindo relação com processos inflamatórios crônicos.
Conclusão: A maioria dos estudos apresentou risco de viés moderado. Os achados indicam que os transtornos de ansiedade exercem impacto significativo sobre o sistema imune, reforçando a importância de estratégias eficazes de manejo da ansiedade para promover saúde imunológica e qualidade de vida.
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