07/31/2022
Stress Lowers Immune
System for Older Adults
LOS ANGELES – A study was conducted at the University of Southern California with the results published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that sought to explain disparities in age-related health and how stress might affect the immune system.
The researchers explained in their article:
“As people age, the immune system naturally begins a dramatic downgrade, a condition called immunosenescence. With advanced age, a person's immune profile weakens, and includes too many worn-out white blood cells circulating and too few fresh, "naive" white blood cells ready to take on new invaders.
Immune aging is associated not only with cancer, but with cardiovascular disease, increased risk of pneumonia, reduced efficacy of vaccines and organ system aging.”
To determine if stress could be a factor in the weakening of the immune system as you age they analyzed a national sample of 5,744 adults over the age of 50 for stress factors and then also blood samples.
The team concluded that people with higher stress scores had older-seeming immune profiles, with lower percentages of fresh disease fighters and higher percentages of worn-out white blood cells.
According to lead study author Eric Klopack, a postdoctoral scholar in the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology:
"As the world's population of older adults increases, understanding disparities in age-related health is essential. Age-related changes in the immune system play a critical role in declining health. This study helps clarify mechanisms involved in accelerated immune aging."
The authors note that a large percentage of people reporting high stress also had less healthy diets and lower levels of exercise, so even if you are highly stressed you may be able to reduce the negative effect on your immune system if you make sure to have a healthy diet and exercise regularly.
If you want to help keep your immune system as strong as possible you may want to not only make sure you have a healthy lifestyle as far as diet and exercise goes but also take steps to lower stress levels through life choices and things like meditation, counseling, and enjoyable leisure activities.
