| Marital arguments can leave a husband and wife | | | | High Levels of Hostility |
| feeling emotionally wounded, but that's not all. | | | | During the first visit, each spouse was asked to talk |
| Scientists have discovered that the stress of a | | | | for several minutes about some characteristic or |
| typical 30-minute tiff can prevent physical wounds | | | | behavior that he or she would like to change. This |
| from healing by at least one day. | | | | was a supportive, positive discussion, Kiecolt-Glaser |
| Moreover, couples whose relationships are generally | | | | notes. |
| hostile may suffer longer delays in the healing | | | | "But during the second visit, we asked them to talk |
| process -- even twice as long. This finding, published | | | | about an area of disagreement," she says, |
| in the Archives of General Psychiatry, could have | | | | "something that inherently had an emotional element." |
| major financial implications for medical centers and | | | | Both discussions were videotaped, and those tapes |
| healthcare insurers. | | | | were used to gauge the level of hostility present |
| The latest research is part of a thirty-year series of | | | | between the couples. Fluid accumulating at the |
| experiments underway at the Ohio State University's | | | | individual wound sites and peripheral blood samples |
| Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research. The work | | | | were also taken from each participant. |
| is aimed at identifying and then explaining the ways | | | | The researchers then analyzed the data, making the |
| psychological stress can affect human immunity. | | | | following observations: |
| Psychological Preparation | | | | - Wounds took a day longer to heal after the |
| Jan Kiecolt-Glaser, a professor of psychiatry and | | | | arguments than they did after the initial supportive |
| psychology, and partner Ronald Glaser, a professor | | | | discussion; |
| of molecular virology, immunology and medical | | | | - Couples who showed high levels of hostility needed |
| genetics, both at Ohio State, say the findings provide | | | | two days longer for wound-healing, compared to |
| important recommendations for patients facing | | | | couples whose hostility appeared low. |
| surgery. | | | | "Wounds on the hostile couples healed at only 60 |
| "This shows specifically why it is so important that | | | | percent of the rate of couples considered to have |
| people be psychologically prepared for their | | | | low levels of hostility," Kiecolt-Glaser points out. |
| surgeries," Kiecolt-Glaser explains. | | | | Delicate Balance |
| "We have enough data now from all of our past | | | | Blood samples from those highly hostile couples |
| studies," adds Glaser, "to basically suggest that | | | | showed differences as well. The levels of one |
| hospitals need to modify existing practices in ways | | | | cytokine -- interleukin-6 (IL-6) -- increased |
| that will reduce stress prior to surgery." | | | | one-and-a-half times over those in couples considered |
| Such stress reduction could lead to shorter hospital | | | | less hostile. |
| stays -- with corresponding lower medical bills -- and a | | | | Cytokines are key elements in the human immune |
| reduced risk of infections among patients, the | | | | system. They hold a delicate balance in maintaining |
| researchers agree. | | | | the right immune response. Increased levels of IL-6 |
| Blistering Trial | | | | at the site of a wound stimulate the healing process, |
| A group of 42 married couples who had been | | | | but those same levels circulating throughout the |
| together an average of 12 years or more | | | | bloodstream is a problem. |
| participated in the study. Each couple was admitted | | | | Sustained higher-than-normal levels of IL-6 have been |
| into the university's General Clinical Research Center | | | | linked to long-term inflammation, which is implicated in |
| for two 24-hour-long visits. The visits were | | | | a host of age-related illnesses: cardiovascular disease, |
| separated by a two-month interval. | | | | osteoporosis, arthritis, type-2 diabetes, certain |
| During each visit, both the husband and wife were | | | | lymphoproliferative diseases and cancers, Alzheimers |
| fitted with a small suction device which created eight | | | | disease and periodontal disease. |
| tiny uniform blisters on their arms. The skin was | | | | "In our past wound-healing experiments, we looked |
| removed from each blister and another device placed | | | | at more severe stressful events," says Kiecolt-Glaser. |
| directly over each small wound, forming a protective | | | | "This was just a marital discussion that lasted only a |
| bubble, from which researchers could extract fluids | | | | half-hour. The fact that even this can bump the |
| that normally fill such blisters. | | | | healing back an entire day for minor wounds says |
| The husbands and wives also completed | | | | that wound-healing is a really sensitive process," she |
| questionnaires intended to gauge their level of stress | | | | observes. |
| at the beginning of the experiment. Lastly, each | | | | "This supports our long-held contention that even |
| person was fitted with a catheter through which | | | | small changes in cytokine levels will have a marked |
| blood could be drawn for later analysis. | | | | effect on health," adds Glaser. |