Stress, immunity and illness--a review.

Area of Science:

• Psychoneuroimmunology
• Behavioral immunology

Background:

• Psychological factors are increasingly recognized for their role in physical illness development and progression.
• Advances in immunology highlight the intricate interplay between psychosocial influences, behavior, and immune system responses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review models explaining the link between psychological variables and physical illness.
• To present evidence for psychological factors contributing to illnesses with known immunologic abnormalities.
• To examine stress effects on disease susceptibility in animal and human studies.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing literature on psychological factors and physical illness.
• Analysis of animal studies on stress and disease susceptibility.
• Examination of human studies on immunologic changes during acute psychological stress (e.g., bereavement, examinations).
• Review of immunologic functioning in psychiatric disorders (depression, anorexia nervosa, schizophrenia).

Main Results:

• Psychological factors contribute to certain physical illnesses involving immunologic abnormalities.
• Acute psychological stress in humans induces consistent immunologic changes.
• Chronic stress may have different effects than acute stress, aligning with animal study findings.
• Depression is the only psychiatric disorder consistently showing immunologic changes.

Conclusions:

• Psychological stress and behavior demonstrably influence immune function and physical health.
• Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the stress-immune system relationship.
• Understanding these connections can inform integrated approaches to health and disease management.