ArticleImmunity & ageing : I & A2014
Bereavement reduces neutrophil oxidative burst only in older adults: role of the HPA axis and immunesenescence.
Article in Immunity & ageing : I & A, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 31 citations in OpenAlex.
- Grief-Related Psychopathology from Complicated Grief to DSM-5-TR Prolonged Grief Disorder: A Systematic Review of Biochemical Findings.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Prolonged grief disorder in later life: advancing our understanding of biopsychosocial mechanisms to guide future personalized interventions.Neuropsychopharmacology : official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology · 2026Review
- Zinc deficiency as possible link between immunosenescence and age-related diseases.Immunity & ageing : I & A · 2025Review
- Hormonal changes in northern white-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus leucogenys) after the death of a group member.Primates; journal of primatology · 2024Article
- Advanced age is associated with changes in alveolar macrophages and their responses to the stress of traumatic injury.Journal of leukocyte biology · 2022Article
- Recovering the body in grief: Physical absence and embodied presence.Health (London, England : 1997) · 2022Article
- Adverse outcomes after partner bereavement in people with reduced kidney function: Parallel cohort studies in England and Denmark.PloS one · 2021Article
- Review
- Influence of Stress and Depression on the Immune System in Patients Evaluated in an Anti-aging Unit.Frontiers in psychology · 2020Article
- The Psychobiology of Bereavement and Health: A Conceptual Review From the Perspective of Social Signal Transduction Theory of Depression.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2020Review
- Prevalence of Anxiety Symptoms and Their Association With Loss Experience in a Large Cohort Sample of the Oldest-Old. Results of the AgeCoDe/AgeQualiDe Study.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2019Article
- Gender differences in the use of anti-infective medications before and after widowhood: a register-based study.Journal of epidemiology and community health · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe effect of the chronic stress of bereavement on immunity is poorly understood. Previous studies have demonstrated negative effects on immunity in older adults, and those who report higher depressive symptoms. The aim of the present study was to compare the effect of bereavement on neutrophil function in healthy young and old adults, also assessing serum levels of the stress hormones, cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEAS). 41 young (mean age 32 years) and 52 older adults (mean age 72 years), bereaved and non-bereaved, took part in the study. They completed questionnaires on socio-demographic and health behaviour characteristics, as well as psychosocial variables, and provided a blood sample for analysis of neutrophil function (phagocytosis and reactive oxygen species (ROS) production) and stress hormone analysis.
resultsBereaved participants in both age groups reported more symptoms of depression and anxiety than controls and scored moderately highly on bereavement-specific questionnaires for these symptoms. Despite this, young bereaved participants showed robust neutrophil function when compared to age-matched non-bereaved controls, and comparable stress hormone levels, while reduced neutrophil ROS production and raised stress hormone levels (cortisol:DHEAS ratio) were seen in the older bereaved group compared to their age-matched controls.
conclusionsReduced neutrophil function among older bereaved participants may be the result of the inability to maintain stress hormone balance, specifically the cortisol:DHEAS ratio.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.