ABSTRACT
Considerable evidence has accumulated demonstrating a relationship between psychosocial factors, immune function, and health and illness. It appears that psychosocial processes, including a range of life experiences and situational and trait characteristics of the individual, may result in enhancement or suppression of immune activity. Accordingly, changes in immune function may increase or decrease the risk of onset as well as subsequent course and outcome of a wide variety of clinical disorders. We and others have reviewed a series of clinical and experimental studies demonstrating a relationship between psychosocial factors, the central nervous system (CNS), immune function, and health and illness (1-3). Psychosocial processes appear to play a role in humans in infectious disease, allergic disorders, autoimmune diseases, organ transplantation, and cancer.
