Zisook S, Shuchter S R, Irwin M, Darko D F, Sledge P, Resovsky K
UCSD Outpatient Psychiatric Services, San Diego, CA 92103.
Psychiatry Res. 1994 Apr;52(1):1-10. doi: 10.1016/0165-1781(94)90114-7.
This study evaluates whether recently widowed women who fulfill criteria for a depressive syndrome differ in their immune responses from widows who do not. Twenty-one middle-aged widows who had lost their spouses 2 months before the initial evaluation and 21 demographically matched married women were evaluated at approximately 6-month intervals for 13 months. Evaluations consisted of diagnostic interviews using the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, and Beck Depression Inventory. Immune function was measured by total lymphocyte counts, natural killer (NK) cell activity, mitogen responsiveness to concanavalin A, and T-cell subsets. There were no statistically significant differences on any of the immune measures between the entire cohort of widows and control subjects. However, the subset of widows who met DSM-III-R criteria for major depressive syndromes demonstrated impaired immune function (lower NK cell activity and lower mitogen stimulation) compared with those who did not meet criteria for major depression. This study suggests a relationship between impaired immune function and depression in women experiencing the stress of bereavement.
本研究评估了符合抑郁综合征标准的近期丧偶女性与不符合该标准的丧偶女性在免疫反应上是否存在差异。21名在初次评估前2个月丧偶的中年女性以及21名在人口统计学特征上与之匹配的已婚女性，在13个月内每隔约6个月接受一次评估。评估包括使用情感障碍和精神分裂症量表、汉密尔顿抑郁量表以及贝克抑郁量表进行的诊断性访谈。通过总淋巴细胞计数、自然杀伤（NK）细胞活性、对刀豆蛋白A的丝裂原反应性以及T细胞亚群来测量免疫功能。在整个丧偶女性队列与对照受试者之间，任何一项免疫指标均无统计学上的显著差异。然而，与未符合重度抑郁标准的丧偶女性相比，符合DSM-III-R重度抑郁综合征标准的丧偶女性亚组表现出免疫功能受损（NK细胞活性较低且丝裂原刺激较低）。本研究表明，在经历丧亲之痛压力的女性中，免疫功能受损与抑郁之间存在关联。
