Chronic Stress and Latent Virus Reactivation: Effects on Immune Aging, Chronic Disease Morbidity, and Mortality

Abstract

Objectives: Social stress has been shown to affect immune functioning. Past research has found that chronic social stress and latent viral infections accelerate immune aging, leading to chronic disease morbidity and mortality. Chronic stress may also reactivate latent viral infections, like cytomegalovirus (CMV), accelerating the aging of the immune system.

Method: Utilizing panel survey data from 8,995 U.S. adults aged 56 or older from the Health and Retirement Study, this study investigates whether chronic stress interacts with CMV positivity to drive aging of the immune system, multimorbidity, and mortality.

Results: Results of moderated mediation analysis indicate that the effect of CMV positivity on morbidity and mortality as mediated by immune aging indicators is amplified by chronic stress.

Discussion: These findings suggest that immune aging is a biological pathway underlying the stress process and help explain past findings in the literature on stress and health.

Keywords: Cytomegalovirus; Health and Retirement Study; Immunosenescence.