Vaccines weakened by stress

December 12, 2000

FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES

If you're thinking of getting a flu or pneumonia shot this winter, you might want to reduce the amount of stress in your life. Otherwise, the vaccine's disease-fighting power might wear off too quickly.

A growing body of evidence suggests that several vaccines don't work as well in stressed-out people and that seniors who are caring for a spouse with dementia really need to make sure the stress they're under doesn't hurt their body's ability to fight off infection.

Researchers have found that protection against the bacterium that causes a common form of pneumonia drops dramatically 6 months after immunization in seniors caring for a spouse with dementia. The study, published in the current issue of Psychosomatic Medicine, underscores how caring for a seriously ill loved one can jeopardize a caregiver's health.

Ohio State University researcher Ronald Glaser calls these vulnerable family members the "second victims of Alzheimer's disease." He led a study looking at the role stress plays in the effectiveness of the pneumonia vaccine.

Pneumonia ranks as the top cause of infectious death in all age groups, and it's particularly deadly in seniors.

Glaser's previous research found the vaccines for influenza, hepatitis B and rubella were less effective in people who were under a lot of stress. In the new study, Glaser focused on stress experienced by caregivers who look after family members with dementia.

He recruited 52 older adults, mostly women, who had never been vaccinated against pneumonia. Eleven of them were caring for a spouse with dementia, 13 were former caregivers and the rest had never been caregivers. They were given psychological tests and vaccinated against pneumonia. The vaccines typically prevent the disease for several years.

Initially, all were making immunoglobin G antibodies -- the disease-fighting proteins that protect against the pneumonia. But after 6 months, the antibody levels dropped significantly in the caregiver group -- meaning members' ability to stave off a potential invasion by the deadly bacteria was seriously compromised.