Impact of Stress and Eco-anxiety on Rheumatic Disease: A Growing Concern in the Climate Crisis

Abstract

Eco-anxiety, or persistent worry about environmental degradation, has emerged as a chronic psychological stressor in the context of the climate crisis. In more severe cases, this distress may manifest as climate trauma, characterized by sustained emotional, cognitive, and physiologic symptoms following direct or indirect exposure to environmental catastrophe. While the effects of psychological stress on autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) are well-documented, the potential impact of eco-anxiety and climate trauma remains unexplored. This narrative review synthesizes established stress-immunity pathways and applies them hypothetically to climate-related distress, highlighting the urgent need for interdisciplinary research and climate-informed care models for ARD populations.

Keywords: Autoimmune rheumatic diseases; Behavioral health; Chronic stress; Climate trauma; Eco-anxiety; Immune dysregulation.