Abstract

The purpose of this article is to offer ways to predict the onset of chronic diseases by strong or prolonged stress, which is a dynamic long-lasting process best described by the non equilibrium theory of Prigogine [1]. Stressors cause delays (called phase shifts for periodic reactions) because the body needs to stop its work and mobilize for response to the stressors. Weak stressors cause small delays (phase shifts), for which the body can compensate and the result is successful adaptation. In torus representation, this means elongation of the circle of phase-shift-resetting curves into ellipses. Since adaptation preserves the biorhythms’ order, called homeostasis, each adaptation is a shift to near-to-equilibrium state. Strong or prolonged stress causes big delays (phase shifts), for which the body cannot compensate. They accumulate in the genetically inherited weak organ, which is too weak to propel them. With time the organ’s biorhythms become desynchronized, the functioning of the organ becomes more sluggish, and the organ suffers chronic disease. Thus, chronic disease is maladaptation to strong or prolonged stressors. The disintegrated biorhythms evolve to a new equilibrium state with a new type of biorhythm order, which is better adapted to stressors, but allows easier onset of chronic diseases. To restore the health, the biorhythms need to be reordered. Since reordering is a chaotic state, this makes the cure of chronic diseases not only slow and difficult, but also unpredictable, which makes prevention important. Measuring the stress-induced phase shifts and plotting the phase-shift-resetting curves would allow prediction of oncoming chronic disease, which in torus representation means leaping of the phase-shift-resetting curve through the hole of the donut.

Keywords: Chronic diseases; Stress and chronic diseases; Chronic diseases dynamic; Non-equilibrium theory and chronic diseases dynamic; Nonlinear mathematical modelling; Adaptation to stressors is near-to-equilibrium state; Maladaptation to stressors means far-from-equilibrium state or chronic disease; Chronic diseases prediction