Stressful Social Situations May Be Physically Harmful in Some

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Harmful in Some

If immune system reacts with inflammation, repeated stress can lead to chronic

disease, study finds

(HealthDay News) -- Stress caused by social situations, such as giving a speech

or going to a job interview, can affect some people's immune system in ways that

harm their health, researchers have found.

The study included 124 volunteers who were purposely put into awkward social

situations. Those who exhibited greater neural sensitivity to social rejection

also had greater increases in inflammatory activity when exposed to social

stress.

" It turns out there are important differences in how people interpret and

respond to social situations, " lead author Slavich, a postdoctoral fellow

at the Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology at the University of California,

Los Angeles, said in a UCLA news release.

" For example, " he explained, " we sometimes see giving a speech in front of an

audience as a welcomed challenge; other times, it's threatening and distressing.

In this study, we sought to examine the neural bases for these differences in

response and to understand how these differences relate to biological processes

that can affect human health and well-being. "

The findings provide " further evidence of how closely our mind and body are

connected. We have known for a long time that social stress can 'get under the

skin' to increase risk for disease, but it's been unclear exactly how these

effects occur. To our knowledge, this study is the first to identify the

neurocognitive pathways that might be involved in inflammatory responses to

acute social stress, " Slavich said.

Increases in inflammatory activity are part of the immune system's natural

response to potentially harmful situations, but " frequent or chronic activation

of the system may increase the risk for a variety of disorders, including

asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease and even depression, "

Slavich added.

The study was released online Aug. 2 in advance of publication in an upcoming

print issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

More information

The American Psychological Association outlines the different types of stress.

-- Preidt

SOURCE: University of California, Los Angeles, news release, Aug. 12, 2010