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Stress
and Aging
Affects Immune System
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Stress is known to pack a punch to the
immune system, and the whallop seems to hit the elderly the hardest,
according to researchers at Ohio State University.
After a review
of several studies conducted by their own research team and others,
they conclude that aging interacts with stress to lower the body's
immune capabilities. The findings are scheduled to be published
in the February issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science.
``We're interested
in understanding the double impact of being an elderly person
and going through a chronic stressful situation, like being a
caregiver for an Alzheimer's patient,'' said Dr. Ronald Glaser,
professor of molecular virology, immunology, and medical genetics
at Ohio State University Medical Center in Columbus.
Caregivers
of Alzheimer's patients tend also to be elderly and experience
excessive amounts of stress, leading them to become the second
victims of Alzheimer's, he noted. This impact to the nation's
public health will increase as the population ages, Glaser told
Reuters Health.
For example,
one study found that people caring for family members with dementia
had poorer wound healing than people who were not caregivers.
Those caring for relatives took an average of 9 days longer to
heal a small wound (3.5 millimeters or about a tenth of an inch)
than others--a 24% increase in healing time.
This led the
study authors to conclude that chronic stress might be accelerating
the immune system decline that can occur with aging. The good
news is that studies also suggest that there are things that people
can do to reduce the impact of stress on their immune system.
An important source of stress relief is a network of supportive
friends and family, Glaser pointed out.
``What we're
learning is that there is a mind/body connection that we can understand
and explain at the molecular and cellular level,'' Glaser said.
``If you encounter stress, try to get rest and eat well, but what's
really important is social networking. Family friends and social
support really help us cope with the emotional and physiological
stress. This has significant healthcare benefits that are not
that expensive.''
SOURCE:
Current Directions in Psychological Science 2001;10.
Reference
Source 89
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