Abstract
BackgroundPsychological stress or life events might significantly decrease neutrophil function in elderly individuals and lead to infectious diseases. However, relationships between these factors have not been examined in detail.We investigated the relationships between neutrophil function measured using the nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction test and measurements of psychological stress and life events among 81 men aged over 60 years.ResultsThe numbers and scores for life events were significantly higher (p < 0.01, respectively) in a group with values reflecting phagocytosis below the median than in a control group.ConclusionsChronic psychological stress due to life events decreases neutrophil functions among elderly men.
Highlights
Psychological stress or life events might significantly decrease neutrophil function in elderly individuals and lead to infectious diseases
The numbers of neutrophils in blood and neutrophil precursors in the bone marrow and the chemotactic responses of neutrophils reportedly remain unchanged in healthy elderly, age adversely affects human neutrophil phagocytosis and bactericidal activity against opsonized Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli [5]
Phagocytic activity relative to various parameters We compared stress status and serum components between participants assigned to low and control groups according to median values of phagocytosis (Table 1)
Summary
Individuals tend to become more vulnerable to infections and established infections tend to become more intractable and serious with high mortality rates [1]. The numbers of neutrophils in blood and neutrophil precursors in the bone marrow and the chemotactic responses of neutrophils reportedly remain unchanged in healthy elderly, age adversely affects human neutrophil phagocytosis and bactericidal activity against opsonized Staphylococcus aureus and E. coli [5]. The relationship between immune function and chronic psychological stress has been. Chronic psychological stress or life events among elderly individuals might noticeably decrease immune function and lead to an increased risk of infectious diseases. Very few reports have described relationships among neutrophil functions and chronic psychological stress or life events among elderly individuals. The present study assesses these associations using the nitroblue tetrazolium (NBT) reduction test to measure neutrophil function in whole blood against Staphylococcus aureus [13].
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