Immune, endocrine, and psychological responses in civilians displaced by war

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the influence of tr auma caused by forced expulsion from home in a war-ravaged region on the ps ychological, hormonal, and immune responses in displaced persons and to ana lyze the relationships between psychometric, hormonal, and immunologic vari ables. Methods: Participants were 20 displaced and 14 control women. Psycho somatic response was evaluated using the COR-NEX2 test. Serum concentration s of cortisol, prolactin, endorphin, thyroxine, and triiodothyronine were m easured by radioimmunoassay. Immunophenotyping and lymphocyte proliferation were determined by flow cytometry, and phagocyte functions (ie, ingestion and antibody-dependent cytotoxicity) against Cr-51-labeled sheep red blood cells were assessed through radioactivity uptake and release, respectively. Results: in comparison with control women, displaced women had higher COR- NEX2 test scores; higher serum cortisol, prolactin, and endorphin levels; a n increase in activated phenotype within all three measured cell population s (ie, B, T, and natural killer cells); as well as an enhanced proportion o f proliferating lymphocytes in freshly isolated samples. However, the phyto hemagglutinin-stimulated proliferative response, estimated as the stimulati on index, was lower in displaced women. A complex pattern of relations betw een psychological, hormonal, and immune responses was observed. Conclusions : Chronic psychological stress elicited multiple, predominantly stimulatory influences on immune functions.