Influence of the Circadian System on Disease Severity.

Publication/Presentation Date

6-1-2009

Abstract

The severity of many diseases varies across the day and night. For example, adverse cardiovascular incidents peak in the morning, asthma is often worse at night and temporal lobe epileptic seizures are most prevalent in the afternoon. These patterns may be due to the day/night rhythm in environment and behavior, and/or endogenous circadian rhythms in physiology. Furthermore, chronic misalignment between the endogenous circadian timing system and the behavioral cycles could be a cause of increased risk of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and certain cancers in shift workers. Here we describe the magnitude, relevance and potential biological basis of such daily changes in disease severity and of circadian/behavioral misalignment, and present how these insights may help in the development of appropriate chronotherapy.

Volume

4

Issue

2

First Page

143

Last Page

163

ISSN

1556-4088

Disciplines

Medicine and Health Sciences

PubMedID

20161149

Department(s)

Department of Medicine

Document Type

Article

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