Background: Stress can be defined as an acute threat to the homeostasis of an organism, and in order to manage stress, and maintain stability, the allostatic systems activate an adaptive response. Stress has been shown to have both short - and long-term effects on the function of the gastrointestinal tract, but long-term exposure to stress is more likely to cause endocrine disorders. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the endocrine response to stress, and evaluate the relationship between somatization and gastrointestinal symptoms. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted on several academic databases, which included, Pubmed, EBSCO and Science Direct. The search was performed using the.