Objective: To investigate the associations between psychosocial factors and peripheral blood CD4 and CD8 T lymphocyte numbers in Brazilian peacekeepers.
Methods: Venous blood was collected from 759 peacekeepers who had just returned from a peace mission in Haiti. Among the 759 soldiers, 642 individuals completed the psychosocial measures. CD4 and CD8 T lymphocyte counts were measured by flow cytometry using a commercially available kit. Psychosocial factors, including military peace force stressors, clinical stress, anxiety and depression, were recorded. As a reference for T lymphocyte numbers, we measured T lymphocyte counts in 75 blood donors from the Instituto de Biologia do Exército, Rio de Janeiro.
Results: The median numbers of CD4 and CD8 T lymphocytes in the blood donors were 819 cells/µl and 496 cells/µl, respectively, with a CD4:CD8 ratio of 1.6. Significantly (p<0.05) lower CD4 T cell counts (759 cells/µl) were recorded for peacekeepers, with similar CD8 levels (548 cells/µl) and smaller CD4:CD8 ratios (1.3, p<0.001) compared to blood donors. These differences were due to a group of 14 military personnel with CD4 and CD8 medians of 308 and 266 cells/µl, respectively. Only one (7.1%) of these 14 individuals was diagnosed with clinical stress compared with 13.5% of the individuals with normal levels of CD4 T lymphocytes. One individual out of 628 (0.16%) had a Lipp's Stress Symptom Inventory score of 3, indicating near exhaustion.
Conclusion: The prevalence of psychological disorders was low and there were no associations with CD4 or CD8 T cell numbers.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4351315 | PMC |
http://dx.doi.org/10.6061/clinics/2015(02)13 | DOI Listing |
J Clin Psychol
January 2025
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, The Institute of Neurosciences, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Based on the repertory grid technique, we developed Explore Your Meanings (EYME), a digital platform that helps patients explore identity values and internal conflicts using virtual reality (VR). EYME was part of a research project treating depression in young adults, including 10 weekly, 1-h sessions aimed at changing personal constructs-cognitive schemas that shape how individuals interpret reality. We present the case of Mary, a 21-year-old woman diagnosed with persistent major depressive disorder and social phobia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSleep
January 2025
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science, Memorial University, St. John's, NL, Canada.
Study Objectives: Cancer-related fatigue is one of the most common symptoms in cancer survivors. Cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) can improve fatigue, but mechanisms are unclear. This secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial evaluated whether CBT-I led to a significant improvement in fatigue, accounting for change in comorbid symptoms of insomnia, perceived cognitive impairment (PCI), anxiety, and depression.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNicotine Tob Res
January 2025
University of Chicago, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, Chicago, IL.
Introduction: Prior research shows that in-person exposure to electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use increases desire for cigarettes and ENDS. However, less is known about the impact of cues delivered during remote interactions. This study extends previous in-person cue work by leveraging a remote confederate-delivered cue-delivery paradigm to evaluate the impact of dual nicotine vaping (vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRes Child Adolesc Psychopathol
January 2025
Department of Psychology and the Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA.
Despite frequent reliance on teacher and parent ratings of children's behavior for multi-informant assessment, agreement between teachers' and parents' ratings is low. This study examined the predictive utility of teacher and parent ratings for children's self-regulatory outcomes (i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Youth Adolesc
January 2025
Research Center of Adolescent Psychology and Behavior, School of Education, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China.
Risk-taking is a concerning yet prevalent issue during adolescence and can be life-threatening. Examining its etiological sources and evolving pathways helps inform strategies to mitigate adolescents' risk-taking behavior. Studies have found that unfavorable environmental factors, such as adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), are associated with momentary levels of risk-taking in adolescents, but little is known about whether ACEs shape the developmental trajectory of risk-taking.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEnter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!