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The deployment of the Covid-19 vaccination is in progress with a demand exceeding availability. With millions online for the vaccine, experts offer advice to consider while you wait: prioritize your Mental Health.
In a recent preprinted report (not peer reviewed), researchers argue that stress, depression, loneliness, and poor health behaviors can interfere with the immune system’s response to vaccines. Poor mental health, it is suggested, can be a risk factor for a delayed immune response to the vaccine and can potentially shorten the duration of immunity.
This claim has not been tested in individuals vaccinated against Covid-19 but is based on 30 years of studies documenting the impact of psychological factors on the vaccine response of the immune system. Pre-print is accepted for publication in Perspectives on Psychological Science.
Principal author Janice Kiecolt-Glaser is Director of the Behavioral Medicine Research Institute at Ohio State University College of Medicine. She says Reverse Previous research, including studies of how stress alters the body’s response to hepatitis B vaccine, suggests that “people who are more stressed and anxious may also take longer to respond to vaccines.” the coronavirus.
That’s not to say people won’t be protected from Covid-19 vaccines – they will. Rather, it is about protecting one’s mental health in order to maximize vaccine effectiveness. Individuals can take concrete and meaningful steps to ensure their the immune system is functioning at peak performance before vaccination.
Mental health and immunity – After vaccination, the body initiates an innate and systemic immune response to a potential biological threat. Part of this response involves the production of antibodies, and the continued production of antibodies indicates how well a vaccine is protecting you over time.
Poor mental health can influence the body’s immune response, explains Fulvio D’Acquisto, professor of immunology and the University of Roehampton. He was not involved in the new report. His work suggests that the cellular makeup of our immune system responds “to every positive and negative feeling or emotional experience” – like laughing, crying, or being in love.
“I will have my vaccine next week and I’m going to do these two things.
But if there seems to be this connection between the mind and the immune system, scientists are still in the early stages of recognition. Why it may play a role in the immune system’s response to a vaccine.
One potential explanation, explains Annelise Madison, are the neuroendocrine changes associated with chronic stress and depression. Madison holds a doctorate. candidate for the Ohio State University College of Medicine and co-author of the report. Neuroendocrine describes cells that release hormones in response to stimulation of the nervous system.
Kalil Alves de Lima, a post-doctoral researcher at the University of Washington who studies how the immune system affects the mind and body and was not part of the report, adds that over the past decade several “beautiful studies Have demonstrated reciprocal interactions between the immune system and the central nervous system. He says Reverse it’s fair to say that poor mental health can negatively influence the body’s response to the vaccine.
“For this unusual time that we are all going through, it’s more important than ever to relieve any additional anxiety or stress,” says Alves de Lima. “This will not only help us maintain our sanity, but it will definitely provide the extra boost our immune system needs to mount the best possible response to beat Covid-19.”
Studies suggest that stress, depression, lack of social support, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, and poor sleep may “independently and synergistically promote a suboptimal immune response to the vaccine,” Madison says. Reverse. Poor mental health is a factor associated with a weaker immune response, she says.
“As you can imagine, these risk factors can start to worsen and to interact with each other,” Madison says. “For example, someone with severe depression is likely to be sedentary, eat foods high in fat and sugar, and withdraw from their social circle, which can affect immune function.”
Mental health and vaccine effectiveness – The risk of the Covid-19 vaccine not working is low, Madison says. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both have an efficacy rate of approximately 95%. But efficiency is a measure of performance under controlled circumstances, while efficiency is what we see under real conditions.
The effectiveness of the vaccine may turn out to be a little lower – which is normal, expected and there is nothing to worry about.
“Individuals should be aware that their mental and physical health can impact their side effect profile, how long it takes to develop immunity and how long immunity lasts,” says Madison.
Future studies are needed to confirm this in recipients of the Covid-19 vaccine. In the meantime, the story may offer some insight. In the 1992 Kiecolt-Glaser study of the hepatitis B vaccine, the vaccine was 90% effective against the disease, but study participants “who were more stressed and anxious took a lot of more time to develop a protective immune response ”.
It is also a question of the duration of the immune response. In an assessment of people receiving a pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine that Kiecolt-Glaser and colleagues published in 2000, they found that groups classified as joint caregivers and non-caregivers both initially and also responded to the vaccine. But six months later, non-caregivers maintained their protective level of antibodies, while caregivers’ antibodies declined.
What you can do – Minimizing stress during a pandemic, Madison admits, is a difficult task. “An important consideration is that these risk factors for a suboptimal vaccine response are, ironically, more prevalent now during the pandemic than they were before the pandemic,” she said.
And D’Aquisto, the professor of immunology, is careful to note that people with mental health issues are at no risk that the vaccine will not work.
“What the study really says is that vaccination is not a ‘passive’ experience for the person receiving it,” says D’Aquisto.
In other words, you can take concrete steps to positively influence your mental health and therefore your immune response. Even relatively small changes, the report says, can help. These include:
- Get a good night’s sleep before and after vaccination
- Exercise vigorously within 24 hours of shooting
“I’m going to get my vaccine next week,” Kiecolt-Glaser says, “and I’m going to do both of these things.”
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