Psychosocial Modifiers of Immunocompetence in Medical Students

TLDR

The study examined the impact of a natural stressor on immune response components. Blood samples were collected from 75 first‑year medical students at baseline (one month before finals) and on the first day of finals, and participants were stratified by Holmes–Rahe and UCLA Loneliness scores for a 2×2×2 repeated‑measures ANOVA. NK cell activity fell from baseline to finals, especially among students scoring high on stressful life events and loneliness, while plasma IgA rose but IgG, IgM, CRP, and salivary IgA remained unchanged.

Abstract

This study addressed the effects of a naturally occurring stressor on components of the immune response. Blood was drawn twice from 75 first-year medical students, with a baseline sample taken one month before their final examinations and a stress sample drawn on the first day of final examinations. Median splits on scores from the Holmes—Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale and the UCLA Loneliness Scale produced a 2 X 2 X 2 repeated measures ANOVA when combined with the trials variable. Natural killer (NK) cell activity declined significantly from the first to the second sample. High scorers on stressful life events and loneliness had significantly lower levels of NK activity. Total plasma IgA increased significantly from the first to second sample, while plasma IgG and IgM, C-reactive protein, and salivary IgA did not change significantly.