Depressive symptoms and life satisfaction in elderly women are associated with natural killer cell number and cytotoxicity

Abstract

Well-preserved natural killer (NK) cell cytotoxicity (NKCC) is associated with healthy aging. The objective of the survey was to investigate psychological factors related to NKCC and NK cell populations in elderly women. A cross-sectional study involving 181 participants was conducted using the Japanese version of the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) and additional questions assessing psychological status and lifestyle. Spearman's rank test revealed a significant negative correlation between NKCC and the GHQ depression subscale (GHQ-D) scores. Significantly reduced NKCC was found in participants presenting high GHQ-D scores (12 < or = GHQ-D, n = 58) compared with those showing middle (8 < or = GHQ-D < or = 11, n = 55) or low (GHQ-D = 7, n = 68) scores. Adjusting for covariates regarding lifestyle, multiple logistic regression analysis was applied; consequently, significant associations were found between reduced NKCC and high depressive symptoms and between increased NK cell numbers and life satisfaction. These results indicated a clue to longitudinal studies in the future.

Correlations of Inflammatory Biomarkers With the Onset and Prognosis of Idiopathic Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss

“…Subjective physical and psychological statuses of 21 patients were assessed via the Japanese version of the 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) (28,29); the Likert method was used to score the GHQ values, including somatic symptoms, anxiety and insomnia, social dysfunction, and depression subscales (30). The maximum score is 28, and a healthy person should have a score of less than 5.…”

The impact of age differences in couples on depressive symptoms: evidence from the Korean longitudinal study of aging (2006–2012)

“…As an important indicator of mental health, depression is associated closely with lower life satisfaction [ 2 ], accompanied often by other mental disorders, physical pains and ailments [ 3 ], and burdensome economically [ 4 ]. Married couples are affected frequently, and psychiatric problems usually affect marital satisfaction [ 5 ].…”

Psychological distress, depressive symptoms, and cellular immunity among healthy individuals: A 1-year prospective study

“…A number of cross-sectional/case-control studies have reported that psychological distress and depression are associated with reduced cellular immune competence (Bauer et al, 1995;Evans et al, 1992;Frank et al, 2002;Jung and Irwin, 1999;Park et al, 2006;Schleifer et al, 1989;Tsuboi et al, 2005). According to several metaanalytic reviews (Herbert and Cohen, 1993;Weisse, 1992;Zorrilla et al, 2001), depressive disorders are associated with decreased natural killer (NK) cells, impaired NK cell cytotoxicity (NKCC), poorer proliferative response of lymphocyte to mitogens, and elevated CD4/CD8 ratios.…”