Dermatological manifestations of stress in normal and psychiatric populations

This article explores the way stress affects the skin, both at the molecular level, where the skin has an intricate connection to the neurocutaneous and immune systems, and at the clinical level. The concept of psychodermatology is reviewed with regard to the way skin reacts to stress, how stress is a trigger for several common skin diseases, and how neuropsychiatric disorders may have skin manifestations. The article is directed at making the dermatologist, the psychiatrist, the psychologist, and the primary physician familiar with the brain-skin mechanisms involved in stress and the resultant clinical expressions on the skin.