Stress, anger bad for HIV patients’ immune system

17 April 2001. Related: Other news.

New research indicates that stress, anger, and a lack of social support could negatively affect HIV-infected individuals.

Dr. Investigators, led by Jane Leserman of the University of North Carolina School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, studied 96 HIV-positive men for nine years to examine the relationship between HIV and psychosocial factors. The team found that the patients who had higher average levels of stress, anger, and cortisol, and less social support, progressed to AIDS faster. Other studies have suggested that although stressful events can negatively impact HIV patients’ immune systems, social support, optimism, and spirituality can have a positive effect on the immune system.

Source: CDC NCHSTP Daily News Update