Does stress damage the immune system? That question can only be answered by first discussing the difference between acute (short-term) stress and chronic (long-term stress). While acute stress causes responses in the body that include boosting the immune system, chronic stress may impair the immune system.
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Better questions are “Does stress damage the immune system on the short term?” and “Does stress damage the immune system on the long term?” The body’s response to acute stress (a real or immediate threat such as a confrontation with a burglar) which is sometimes called the “fight or flight” response includes changes in all the systems of the body. Since the question is “Does stress damage the immune system?”, then we will focus on those responses to acute stress that are temporarily boosting the immune system during this flight or flight scenario.

The most noticeable initial response to the burglar’s appearance is an increase in heart rate. Your body is preparing itself for the possibility that you will need to run. The increase in heart rate triggers the spleen to discharge more red and white blood cells. The red blood cells increase your oxygen supply, while the white blood cells will be necessary for boosting the immune system, in case you fall or the burglar attacks you. Portions of the brain trigger the production and release of cortisol, a primary stress hormone, which dampens less important parts of the immune system, so that white blood cells and other infection fighters can be directed to the areas of the body where injury or infection are most likely to occur, namely the skin, bone marrow and lymph nodes, thus effectively boosting the immune system temporarily. Once the immediate danger has passed, the body systems return to normal.

So, the answer to “does stress damage the immune system” on the short-term is “no”. Acute stress activates the body’s natural defense systems and while this results in boosting the immune system temporarily, it does not “damage” the immune system. Chronic stress, however, is a different story.

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Does stress damage the immune system on the long term? It can, if persistent stressful situations, such as a high-pressure job or an unhappy relationship, do not allow the body to return to a normal relaxed state. Instead of boosting the immune system, chronic stress appears to blunt the immune response, increase the risk for infections and impair a person’s response to immunizations. Studies have shown that people under chronic stress have lower than normal white blood cell counts, are more vulnerable to colds and other viruses, take longer to recover from them and experience worse symptoms than people who do not have high stress levels.

If you are concerned about the answer to the question; does stress damage the immune system, then you may feel that you are in a stressful situation over which you have no control. It may not be possible to leave a high-pressure job in order to reduce your stress level and if doing so would cause financial problems, you could actually increase your stress level. Good nutrition, regular exercise and certain health supplements may help you protect yourself from the effects of chronic stress by naturally boosting the immune system and allowing the body to return to a more relaxed state.

In 1983, an estimated 154,000 rapes and attempted rapes occurred nationally, or roughly 1 for every 600 females 12 years of age and older.

Most rape victims are young. The ages with the highest victimization rates for rape and attempted rape are 16 to 24 year olds.

Most victims of rape or attempted rape are white, reflecting the general racial composition of the population. However, the likelihood of being a rape victim is significantly higher for Black women (2.5 per 1,000 annual rate) than for white women (1.5 per 1,000).
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Two-thirds of rapes and attempted rapes are committed by men who are strangers to the victim. More than three-fourths of all rapes involve one assailant and one victim. Weapons are used in about one-fourth of rapes and attempted rapes.

Social stigma traditionally attached to rape makes it difficult for many victims to report the crime to police. Only half of the victims of rape and attempted rape surveyed nationally during the period 1973-1982 had reported the crime to police.

Aggravated Assault

Aggravated assault is an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury, but not resulting in death.

In 1985, there were 300 reported victims of aggravated assault for every 100,000 persons nationwide. Rates were highest in metropolitan areas (342 per 100,000) and lowest in rural counties (129 per 100,000).

Weapon distribution data for 1985 showed that 21% of reported aggravated assaults involved the use of firearms, and that 31% were committed with blunt objects and other dangerous weapons.

During the five-year period 1981-1985, the reported number of aggravated assaults increased by 9% across the nation.

The term “reported aggravated assaults” refers only to data on such assaults contained in police reports. Recent research has indicated that police reports do not adequately reflect the true extent of aggravated assault in the nation. One study of 41 acute care hospitals in Northeast Ohio found that close to 3 out of 4 cases of assault seen in hospital emergency departments were not reported to police.

Control of Violent Behavior

In 1984, the year end prison population in the United States numbered more than 463,000 persons. This was the largest number of prisoners ever confined in the nation and the 10th consecutive year in which the national year end prison population reached an all-time high.
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Since 1980, the national prison population has increased by more than 40%. While an estimated 100,000 new prison beds were added in 1980-1984, the number of prisoners increased by more than 130,000 during the same period.

Although the number of female prisoners has greatly increased in recent years, and reached a total of 20,853 nationally in 1984, women still account for a very small percentage of the total prison population. In 1984, less than 1 in 20 prisoners were female.

A record 223,551 persons were being held in local jails as of June 1983. This represents a 41% increase over the total population recorded in the previous national jail census conducted in 1978.

Relative to the U.S. population, the number of jailed persons rose from 76 per 100,000 in 1978 to 98 per 100,000 in 1983.

With the exception of Massachusetts, every state had more women in jail in 1983 than in 1978, but women still account for only 7% of the national jail population.

The number of juvenile jail detainees is small and relatively stable, totaling 1,736 nationwide in 1983 and 1,611 in 1978.

More than 1.5% of the adult U.S. population is under some form of correctional supervision on a given day. Nearly two-thirds of these are under some form of probation; the remainder are in prison (17%), jail (8%), or on parole (10%).
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In 1984 an estimated 1.7 million children were referred to child protective services because of child abuse and neglect in the United States. This represented a 158% increase in the number of such reports between 1976 and 1984.

Neglect, alone or in combination with abuse, accounted for 58% of all reports to child protective services in 1984.

Reports of child sexual abuse have increased by approximately 1600% since 1976. This increase reflects greater public awareness of the existence of the problem, changes in reporting and investigative policies, expansions in definitions of child sexual abuse to include extra-familial abuse, and the increase in the number of treatment programs.
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Severe physical child abuse may be decreasing in the United States. Data from two national surveys conducted in 1975-1976 and 1985 indicate a 47% decline in severe violence towards children in intact families with children ages 3 to 17.

Among the possible reasons for the reported decline in severe child abuse are increased use of planned parenthood (including abortion) by the U.S. population, compulsory child abuse and neglect reporting laws in the 50 States, and the appearance of new preventive and treatment programs for child abuse and neglect.

Spouse Abuse

Data from national surveys conducted in 1975-1976 and 1985 indicate that severe violence by husbands against wives has declined. The rate for such violence decreased from 38 per 1,000 couples in the initial survey to 30 per 1,000 couples in 1985. Relative to the 1975-1976 rate, this represents a 26.6% decline in severe wife beating over the 10-year period and comes close to statistical significance.

Severe violence by wives against husbands decreased only slightly between 1975-1976 and 1985. Although the meaning and significance of this violence is poorly understood, it appears that much of it was in self-defense or in retaliation for violence inflicted by husbands.
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Murders of wives by husbands, and of husbands by wives, accounted for 8.3% of all murders nationally in 1985.

Although spousal violence is usually thought of in terms of intact marriages, available data suggest that violence of this type is even more frequent among persons who have been divorced or separated from each other.

Homicide

Homicide was the 11th leading cause of death in the United States in 1983. However, the relative rank of homicide as a cause of death varied greatly by race. In 1983, homicide was the 5th leading cause of death among Blacks, the 14th leading cause of death among whites, and the 9th leading cause of death among persons of other races.

Homicide takes its greatest toll among young persons ages 15 to 34. In 1983, homicide was the leading cause of death for Blacks in this age group.

The toll that homicide takes among the young is also reflected in the number of years of potential life lost (YPLL) before age 65. For Blacks in 1983, homicide was the 3rd leading cause of YPLL; for whites and others, it was the 6th leading cause of YPLL.

Males account for nearly 75% of homicide victims. Black males have a 1 in 21 lifetime chance of being murdered; white males have 1 chance in 131.

Most homicides in the United States are committed with firearms. In 1985, firearms accounted for 3 out of 5 homicides nationally. Cutting or stabbing instruments were employed in 1 out of 5 homicides.
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Nearly 3 out of every 5 homicides committed in 1985 were perpetrated by persons acquainted with the victim (47%) or by relatives (17%). Arguments are the leading precipitants of homicide and accounted for nearly 40% of homicides nationally during the period 1981-1985.

77% of those surveyed did not consider seeking help in dealing with personal or emotional problems; 5% considered, but did not seek help, and an estimated 15% of the population actually sought help from a variety of sources.
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Of those surveyed, 17% of the women and 12% of the men sought help. 81% of the men and 74% of the women did not consider seeking help.

Survey respondents who had at least a high school education sought help more readily than those who did not.

Help-seeking behavior did not vary across income levels.

Among those surveyed, 91% had never been a member of a self-help group. 5% had participated in a self-help group during the past year and 3% were currently participating in a self-help group.

Respondents were most often familiar with the following agencies: emergency medicare centers, alcohol and drug abuse centers, community mental health agencies, child abuse services and crisis hotlines or help centers. 45% knew of a suicide prevention hotline.

“A community-based emergency center had been contacted by 30% of those sampled; less than 8% had ever contacted a community mental health agency, an alcohol or drug abuse center, a child abuse service, a crisis hotline or a stress service. 1% had contacted a battered woman’s shelter, a rape crisis center, a suicide prevention service or a Parents Anonymous group.”

Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania reports that for 136 persons who used insured outpatient psychiatric benefits, medical costs dropped from $16.47 to $7.06 per month.
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A Washington-based health maintenance organization reported that users of mental health counseling benefits reduced their nonpsychiatric physicians visits by 30.7% and lab X-ray services by 29.8%.

According to a study recently conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the costs of “executive stress” (based on conservative estimates) are as follows: cost of executive work-loss days: $2,861,775,800.; cost of executive hospitalization: $248,316,864.; cost of executive outpatient care: $131,058,235.; cost of executive mortality: $16,470,977,439.

Violent Crime

Police reports collected by the FBI indicate that the number of violent crimes in the nation increased by 4% between 1984 and 1985. Murder increased by 2%, forcible rape by 4%, robbery by 3%, and aggravated assault by 6%.

Each year about 6 million persons—3.2% of all Americans—are the victims of a violent crime.

Violent crime victims are more likely to be:
en rather than women (except for the crime of rape),
lacks rather than whites or members of other racial groups,
ispanics rather than non-Hispanics,
eople with low incomes (less than $7,500 per year).
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In 1981, an estimated $223 million in medical expenses was incurred by victims of assaults, robberies, and rapes.