Changes in immune status following conjugal bereavement

Abstract

Abstract Psychological and immunological assessments were performed concurrently on spouses of terminally ill cancer patients, who were then followed for 1 year after bereavement. Sixty subjects were originally recruited, but only 12 completed the full assessment. There was no evidence that this subsample was different from the rest of the group. There were significant correlations between both the degree of distress experienced, using the Grief Experience Inventory, and marital adjustment with NK cell and helper T cell subpopulations. However, cell populations were within normal limits and did not change significantly postbereavement. Cytokine (IL‐Iα) production was normal, but IFN‐γ was persistently elevated in association with subnormal T cell activation potential in some subjects. These results suggest that there may be a dysregulation of immune function following bereavement which results in persistent activation of T cells and the production of cytokines. Such a dysregulation could result in the predisposition to autoailergic rather than infectious disease.