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Stress May Weaken Immune System of Caregivers

Wed, 12/06/2000 - 1:00am — Karen Stevenson
Description: 

In a study of 52 elderly adults, researchers found that those who were caring for a spouse with dementia had reduced immune responses to pneumonia vaccination. Immune reaction to a vaccine is a sign of how the immune system will respond to an actual infection, so this finding suggests elderly caregivers may be more susceptible to pneumonia and other infections. Earlier studies have shown that elderly caregivers have poor immune responses to flu vaccine, too. Flu and pneumonia combined are the fourth-leading cause of death among the elderly. Certain elderly people seem to be particularly vulnerable to the infections, and the stress of caring for an ill spouse may be one factor behind such vulnerability.

The research was done by Dr. Ronald Glaser and his colleagues at Ohio State University in Columbus and reported in the November/December issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.

In a study of 52 elderly adults, researchers found that those who were caring for a spouse with dementia had reduced immune responses to pneumonia vaccination. Immune reaction to a vaccine is a sign of how the immune system will respond to an actual infection, so this finding suggests elderly caregivers may be more susceptible to pneumonia and other infections. Earlier studies have shown that elderly caregivers have poor immune responses to flu vaccine, too. Flu and pneumonia combined are the fourth-leading cause of death among the elderly. Certain elderly people seem to be particularly vulnerable to the infections, and the stress of caring for an ill spouse may be one factor behind such vulnerability.

The research was done by Dr. Ronald Glaser and his colleagues at Ohio State University in Columbus and reported in the November/December issue of Psychosomatic Medicine.