Role Of Stress In Illness Content Flashcards
What is immunosuppression and what is primarily a result of?
The suppression of the immune system, primarily as a response to cortisol
How does cortisol affect immunity?
Cortisol in chronic stress interferes with WBC’s which are meant to help the body fight against antigens.
What are NK cells and what are the two types?
Natural killer cells are types of WBC’s that fight for your immune system:
. T - cells: formed in the thymus gland
. B - cells: formed in bone marrow
How did Selye’s research show the effects of cortisol on immunosuppression?
It was shown that when under chronic stress, your thymus gland shrinks, meaning T-cells cannot be produced efficiently to help defend your immune system
What did Cohen (1993) investigate?
The role of general stress on vulnerability to the common cold virus
What was the sample of cohen (1993)?
394 participants
How did cohen (1993) collect a ‘stress index’?
Participants filled out questionnaires on:
. Number of stressful life events in previous year
. Degree of stress
. Level of negative emotions such as depression
What was the procedure of Cohen (1993)?
. Participants exposed to common cold virus, leading to 82% becoming infected with the virus
. 7 days later, the number of people whose infection had developed into clinical colds were recorded
What were the findings and conclusion of Cohen (1993)?
Findings:
. Chance of developing a cold was significantly correlated with higher stress index scores
Conclusion: life stress and negative emotions reduce the effectiveness of our immune system
What was the aim of Keicolt-Glaser et al (1984)?
To test the hypothesis that psychological stress can cause damage to the immune system
What was the procedure of Keicolt-Glaser (1984)?
. 75 first year medical student volunteers
. Blood samples taken:
- one month before final exams (low stress)
- during the exams (high stress)
. Immune functioning assessed by measuring NK cell activity (T Cells) in blood samples
. Questionnaires to asses psychiatric symptoms, loneliness and life events
What were the findings of Keicolt Glaser (1984)?
. NK cell activity declined in the blood sample during final exams
. NK cell activity most reduced in participants who reported high levels of life events and loneliness
What are the main conclusions from Keicolt Glaser (1984)?
. Stress is correlated with a lowered immune response in humans
. Long term stressors such as life events may make individuals more vulnerable to the added effect of short term stressors like exams
. Number of different sources of stress
What are the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system?
. Blood pressure increases as part of ‘fight or flight’
. Raised blood pressure and heart rate of SAM system can damage the blood vessels as blood is being pumped at a higher pressure to supply more oxygen
. This causes the arteries to become scarred and harden/narrow
. Narrowed arteries can cause CHD due to the build up of adeposit of fatty acids, causing less efficient blood supply (CHD)
How does the deposit in the arteries build up?
Stress leads to increased glucose levels that can clump the blood vessels, leading to CHD
What did Williams et al (2000) aim to find?
Investigate if anger was linked to heart disease
What was the procedure of Williams et al (2000)?
. Gave questionnaires to 13k people, none of which had heart disease
. Questionnaire contained 10 question anger scale e.g if you feel like hitting someone when angry
How is anger relevant to stress in the Williams study?
The physiological response of stress being fight or flight is often related to anger, but there are gender differences with this fight/flight vs tend/befriend
What are the findings of William et al?
After 6 years, health status of participants was checked:
. 250 developed heart attacks
. Those who scored highly on anger scale were 2.5x more likely to have a heart attack
What were the conclusions of William et al?
Physiological response in stress is closely associated with cardiovascular disorders
. However, only correlational
Which study investigated the effects of short-term stress on cardiovascular disorders?
Wilbert-Lampen et al (2008)
What was the procedure of Wilbert-Lampen et al (2008)?
. Researchers looked at instances of heart attacks in Germany during football marched in 1996 Germany World Cup
What were the findings of wilbert-lampen et al?
When Germany played, there was a 2.66x increase in number of cardiac emergencies than days when Germany didn’t play
