SLOWING OF WOUND-HEALING BY PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS

There is evidence that psychological stress adversely affects the immu ne system. We have investigated the effects of such stress, caused by caring for a relative with Alzheimer's disease, on wound healing. We s tudied 13 women caring for demented relatives (mean age 62 . 3 [SE 2 . 3] years) and 13 controls matched for age (60 . 4 [2 . 8] years) and family income. All subjects underwent a 3 . 5 mm punch biopsy wound. H ealing was assessed by photography of the wound and the response to hy drogen peroxide (healing was defined as no foaming). Wound healing too k significantly longer in caregivers than in controls (48 . 7 [2 . 9] vs 39 . 3 [3 . 0] days, p<0 . 05). Peripheral-blood leucocytes from ca regivers produced significantly less interleukin-1 beta mRNA in respon se to lipopolysaccharide stimulation than did controls' cells. Stress- related defects in wound repair could have important clinical implicat ions, for instance for recovery from surgery.