Emotion, Interventions, and Immunity / Kyung Bong Koh — 2013 г.

P sychological stress can alter one’s immune function and increase susceptibility to physical disease [1 – 3 ]. It can be assumed that negative life events (stressors) lead to negative affective states (distress), producing alterations in human immunity [ 4 ].

For example, an individual’s emotional states, such as anxiety or depression, can be key factors in triggering immune alterations [4 , 5 ].

A nxiety and depression are associated with disease recurrence in patients with genital and oral herpes [ 6 ]. Emotional factors are also thought to play roles in numerous diseases, including Graves’ disease, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, asthma, and diabetes [7 ] . Immunosuppression has been reported in

human subjects who experience symptoms of anxiety and depression in response to situations such as examinations, bereavement, separation, and divorce [8 – 14 ]. In animals, immunosuppression has also been demonstrated in response to a variety of stressors [8 , 15 , 16 ].

Stress-reducing interventions such as relaxation may enhance immune function [1 7 ]. However, little is known about the effects on immune function of different coping styles or interventions in healthy individuals or in patients with emotional disorders. Herein, the author is going to review the effects of coping methods and interventions such as relaxation, meditation, cognitive behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, and pharmacotherapy on immune function, as well as the relationship between stress or emotion and immunity.