Study looks at how everyday stress could make your immune system age – SILive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — Everyday stressors may weaken the immune system over time and leave people vulnerable to disease, a new study found.

Prolonged exposure to factors like trauma, chronic stress and discrimination were found to be associated with fewer white blood cells in a study of more than 5,700 United States adults aged 50 and over, according to research published last week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Researchers probed the participants’ experience with a wide range of stressors before conducting blood tests that assessed the presence of T-cells, which are pivotal in defending the body against infection.

The study found higher levels of stress were correlated to a lower percentage of new — or “naïve” — white blood cells that typically circulate in the body but decrease as people get older, and higher levels of worn-out immune system defenders.

The result: Stress was found to cause the immune profile of participants to appear older than expected, even after taking other health-affecting issues like smoking and drinking into account.

“This study provides important insights on the role of social stress in immune aging, highlighting a key role for health behaviors and social-environmental conditions,” wrote the study’s authors. “Interventions aimed at reducing stress or increasing resilience may be needed to address these inequalities.”

Immune aging increases the risk for cancer and cardiovascular disease but also causes weakened response to infections and reduced efficacy of vaccines — a problem that has left older people at risk amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The researchers said a wider population needs to be assessed to strengthen the findings, especially since stressors that affect older people may not be consistent compared to younger generations. The scientists also said other cells should also be targeted to determine how stress alters other parts of the immune system.

Additionally, the study only assessed life events ending in 2012, leaving the potential that stressors that have occurred over the past decade — including the COVID-19 pandemic that has sparked significant concern from mental health professionals — may yield different findings.

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