I don’t know about you, but it seems like I’m constantly sick during the school year. Currently, I’m on the sixth week of a sinus infection and ear infection in both ears that’s not cooperating with my antibiotics. During the last two and a half years of my college career, I’ve had mononucleosis (“mono”), influenza (“the flu”), “walking” pneumonia, sinus infections, ear infections, and several cases of the common cold. This might seem normal to some of you, but definitely not for me. I didn’t have a single “sick day” during middle or high school. So what changed over the years that makes me so susceptible to illness? I did some research to get to the bottom of this.

For one, I eat much healthier now and I take a multivitamin everyday, which are things I didn’t necessarily do in high school. But I definitely feel more stress and pressure, especially now that I’m a junior. According to a <a href = “http://www.psychosomaticmedicine.org/content/58/5/404.full.pdf+html?sid=241e1bf6-3818-404c-8b58-68a979ad9069”>study</a> conducted by Psychosomatic Medicine, psychosocial stress increases an individual’s susceptibility to infectious illness. They came to this conclusion with an observational study of 107 adults, ranging in ages from 18-65. For twelve months before the study, life event stress was measured.

The results showed that cigarette smoking, sleep habits, or exercise made no difference in one’s susceptibility to illness. Surprisingly, alcohol consumption was lower among those who experienced verified upper respiratory illnesses. Most significantly, the study presented that the risk of infectious illness was greater in those who experienced high life event stress both before and during the study. Interestingly, this was not true for those who had avoidant coping styles.

I wanted to make sure this study was done well and reliable, so I looked into the specifics. It involved 52 men and 55 women of a mainly middle-class residential area. This seems like a somewhat representative study, although it is still fairly small in size. Since the study was observational, the results could be a cause of chance and/or third-party variables. However, given the attention to detail in this study, I will believe that increased stress in my life will lead to increased susceptibility to illness.

Finals week is fast-approaching, and its bringing along a good amount of stress. How do you feel about the results of this study? Do you think you seem to get sick easier when you are feeling extra stressed?