Collaborative research by the University has identified links between diminished immune funtion and emotional stress
Birmingham research shows link between stress and failing immunity in elderly people. Immunologists at the University of Birmingham are shedding fresh light on the links between life stresses, such as the death of a spouse or a serious fall, and failing health in older people. Collaborative research led by Professor Janet Lord in the School of Immunity and Infection and Dr Anna Phillips in the School of Sport and Exercise Science, suggests that diminished immune function caused by emotional stress may help to explain, for example, why it is not unusual for both partners in a long and happy marriage to die within months of each other. 'Our findings suggest that bereaved older people don't die of a broken heart, they die of a broken immune system,' she says. The researchers are investigating how the psychological and emotional strain of bereavement - or of caring for a partner with dementia - can have a negative effect on immune defences. They are also exploring the effects of stress following physical trauma. Why, for example, do up to ten per cent of healthy elderly people die within 12 months of suffering a hip fracture after a fall? They want to find out whether depression on top of this may result in higher death rates.
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