Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry

Summary & key facts

This paper is a meta-analysis of more than 300 studies in humans that looked at links between psychological stress and measures of the immune system. It found that very short, acute stressors (minutes) were tied to increases in some natural (innate) immune measures and decreases in some specific (adaptive) immune functions, which the authors called potentially adaptive. Brief real-life stressors (like exams) tended to lower cellular immunity but leave antibody (humoral) immunity intact. Longer-term, chronic stressors were linked with lower levels of both cellular and humoral immunity. Subjective reports of feeling stressed usually did not match immune changes, and effects varied by event typ

Key facts:

• The report is a meta-analysis of more than 300 empirical articles involving human participants.
• Acute stressors lasting minutes were associated with upregulation of some natural (innate) immune measures and downregulation of some specific (adaptive) immune functions; the upregulation was described as potentially adaptive.
• Brief naturalistic stressors (for example, exams) tended to suppress cellular immunity while preserving humoral (antibody-related) immunity.
• Chronic stressors were associated with suppression of both cellular and humoral immune measures.
• Subjective reports of stress (people saying they felt stressed) generally did not associate with changes in immune measures.
• Effects of sequences of events varied by the kind of event (for example, trauma versus loss), and in some cases older age or existing disease increased vulnerability to immune change during stressors.

Abstract

The present report meta-analyzes more than 300 empirical articles describing a relationship between psychological stress and parameters of the immune system in human participants. Acute stressors (lasting minutes) were associated with potentially ...

Topics

Health, psychology, and well-being Stress Responses and Cortisol Tryptophan and brain disorders

Categories

Behavioral Neuroscience Life Sciences Neuroscience

Tags

Cellular immunity Clinical psychology Computer science Computer security Developmental psychology Humoral immunity Immune system Immunity Immunology Internal medicine Medicine Meta-analysis Psychology Stressor Vulnerability (computing)