The immunological and psychological effects of bereavement: does grief counseling really make a difference? A pilot study

This study evaluates psychological and immunological functioning after bere avement and the influence of group counseling. Eighteen widows (bereaved wi thin 3 months of enrolment) and a reference group of 10 married control sub jects were asked to fill in self-report scales and to donate a blood sample (T1). After T1, half of the widows (the experimental group) were randomly assigned to grief counseling (13 sessions over 4 months), while the other s ubjects (the control group) received no treatment. Seven months after berea vement (T2) or, in the case of the experimental group, immediately after th e intervention, a follow-up was conducted in the widowed subsample using th e same measures. Blood samples were analyzed to determine the total number of white blood cells, number of lymphocyte subsets, natural killer cell act ivity (NKCA) and lymphocyte proliferative response to phytohemagglutinin (P HA), anti-CD3 and pokeweed mitogen (PWM). At T1, we found significant diffe rences between widows and non-widows regarding both psychological and immun ological measures. Widows felt more anxious, depressed, hostile and agoraph obic. At T1, widows had a lower number of the CD19(+)CD5(+) B cell subpopul ation. The cell function tests for T and B cells showed higher responses in widows (lymphocyte proliferation response to PHA, anti-CD3 and PWM). No si gnificant difference in NKCA was found between widows and non-widows. At T2 , there appeared to be no significant difference between widows and non-wid ows on the psychological measures. With respect to the immunological measur es, widows and non-widows showed no significant differences for the total n umber of white blood cells, number of lymphocyte subsets and NKCA. Consiste nt with our findings at T1, the lymphocyte proliferation response to PHA, a nti-CD3 and PWM at T2 appeared to be higher in widows than in non-widows. C omparing the experimental group (widows) and the control group (widows) wit h respect to psychological measures at T1, widows in the experimental group felt more insufficient and had more sleep disturbances. With respect to th e immunological measures, no differences were found between those two group s. When the same two groups were again compared at T2, no differences were found in any of the psychological or immunological measures (lymphocyte sub -populations, proliferation tests and the NKCA). (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.