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Neuroimmunological function in parents of children suffering from cancer

  • Psychiatry and Preclinical Psychiatric Studies - Original Article
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Abstract

The main aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between depression and immunological function in parents of children with cancer. Thirty-two parents participated in the study. The parents completed the following assessments: a list of major stressful events in a Hemato-Oncology ward, beck depression inventory II (BDI-II), posttraumatic diagnostic scale (PDS) and quality of life (QOL) questionnaire. A single blood sample was drawn from parents for evaluation of cortisol levels and lymphocyte cell subgroups. The parents were divided into two groups: Those who suffered from depression as defined by BDI-II cutoff score of 14 (depressed parents (DP), n = 7), and non-depressed parents (non-DP, n = 25). In parents of children with cancer the DP group had statistically significantly higher stressful event scores, dysfunction scores (from the PDS) and CD8 percentage compared to the non-DP group. QOL, CD4 percentage and CD4/CD8 ratio were significantly lower in the DP group. The BDI scores significantly positively correlated with events and dysfunctional scores, and significantly negatively correlated with QOL scores and CD4/CD8 ratio. High psychiatric morbidity was found in parents of children with cancer. The findings of altered immunity in DP provide further evidence that the physiological response to stress and depression may alter immune functions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would especially like to thank Israel Cancer Association and Oncology Memorial Fund (Israel) for supporting the psycho-oncology research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel, 49202, Petah Tikva, Israel

    Noa Benaroya-Milshtein, Alan Apter, Oded Yuval, Boaz Stern & Eliya Shemer

  2. Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Noa Benaroya-Milshtein, Alan Apter, Isaac Yaniv, Oded Yuval, Boaz Stern, Yael Bengal, Yona Kodman, Eliya Shemer, Ilana Buchval & Avi Valevski

  3. Department of Anatomy, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Noa Benaroya-Milshtein & Chaim Gideon Pick

  4. Department of Hemato-Oncology, Schneider Children’s Medical Center of Israel, Petah Tikva, Israel

    Isaac Yaniv, Yael Bengal, Yona Kodman & Ilana Buchval

  5. Geha Mental Health Center, Petah Tikva, Israel

    Avi Valevski

Authors
  1. Noa Benaroya-Milshtein
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  2. Alan Apter
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  3. Isaac Yaniv
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  6. Yael Bengal
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  7. Yona Kodman
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  8. Eliya Shemer
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  9. Chaim Gideon Pick
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Correspondence to Noa Benaroya-Milshtein.

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Benaroya-Milshtein, N., Apter, A., Yaniv, I. et al. Neuroimmunological function in parents of children suffering from cancer. J Neural Transm 121, 299–306 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-013-1098-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00702-013-1098-6

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