How
social status affects immune health
This article was about how rhesus
macaques monkeys were shown to have a better immune systems when they are more social.
They then organized 45 female macques into nine equally sized social groups and
then tested them. “When
they analyzed blood samples from the monkeys, they found that, compared with
their low-status counterparts, the high-status animals had greater expression
of genes that produce natural killer cells, which are responsible for
containing viral infections. ” This was their experimental results in short and
they found that the higher status animals had better immune systems than the
others so they then redid the same situation but mixed up the animals into new
social groups. By doing this they found out that social status alone can cause
immune changes. They then show us that it happens in our society with different
poverty levels.
I found this article very interesting,
because by bringing people out of poverty we would get them out of health
issues as well. This could help everyone by not having more people always
visiting health services, so it could leave it open to the real patients that
need to see the health services. Another reason I thought this was interesting is
that there are always certain people who seem to get sick over and over, and
there is no explanation for why that one person always gets sick this is an interesting
start to see if we could do more than help people with it. Maybe this could be
a start to a program in the United
States where we set up social places where
we make everyone feel welcomed so their immune systems would get stronger.
Quote,
and Article from
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/whos-top-monkey-how-social-status-affects-immune-health/
This is a very interesting article and i think the fact that social aspects effect our and animals similar to ourself are effected so much by social interactions. And i wonder if scientist conducted a study on High Wealth social groups vs Low Wealth social groups and compared their blood to see the differences in immune health would be. Overall a great article!
ReplyDelete-Jacob C
For my English class i had to do an essay on bullying... interestingly, there are many studies that show that being a bully and having that high social status was very good for kids.. physically anyway.
ReplyDelete-AWardell
This is definitely an interesting topic, but it leaves me wondering, was this tested on humans, or was it hypothesized that humans would show the same results? I ask this because while humans and monkeys have similarities, they are still very different species. I would be interested in seeing this tested in humans to see if it would produce the same results.
ReplyDelete-Mindy C.
You mentioned in the last paragraph that you feel there are people who seem to get sick over and over again. Do people who disinfect their home more often get sick more often? I am asking this question because I had an old teen friend who sanitized her home regular and was always sick. My family did not sanitize our home as often and we seemed to never be sick because I believed we were able to build an immunity to some sicknesses after getting them when we were young.
ReplyDeleteA.M
That is a good question, and while I do not have a positive answer, I think that your hypothesis has some credibility. If they grew up in an environment that had less bacteria, they would not be exposed to it and their body would not have a chance to establish antibodies against the bacteria. However, that argument does not account for other environments that the people encounter such as school, the grocery store, etc. There are also outside influences that we can not consider without further research.
DeleteKierstin McCoy
KAM
I think this is a very neat article. I know that stress can cause our immune systems to not work as efficiently as they should, so it makes sense that being socially involved would help make us a bit healthier. Interesting. C.W.
ReplyDeleteHave scientists already answered the question as to why they think being social helps someones immune system? I know that they've realized that being social helps their immune system, but why or how exactly?
ReplyDelete-Gomez
In the article it talks about how when they made the monkeys be the lowest of the social group they began having huge amounts of stress. This stress is what ultimately caused the monkeys to have a weakened immune system. Having a weakened immune system leads to being more perceptable to sickness and disease. -A.S
DeleteI think this article is very interesting. It is fascinating that we can conclude from this article that our minds affect our bodies. I never realized that this would be the case with monkeys as well. -A.S.
ReplyDeleteTypically social interactions produce "happy hormones." It has been proven in patients with terminal illnesses (aka cancer) that the more positive the person, the better their outcome, and the longer they live for. It seemed that the people with negative attitudes and just sort of "gave up" the fight died at a faster rate, and sometimes in more pain. We need interaction with other in order to survive and live healthy lives- I can see why this is happening with animals as well. Think of those commercials by ASPCA with the sad abused dogs and cats, and how after they go to good homes they are completely transformed in health and demeanor.
ReplyDeleteHW
This is interesting and really cool information. The question I have is how then are there many people that keep to themselves and are natural introverts yet still have great immune systems and never get sick? There must be other factors that can help one develop "killer cells" to strengthen the immune system. If so, what are they?
ReplyDeleteChad B
I don't think it was so much the matter of being "social" so much as higher social class in the experiment probably led to the best food and living conditions. I think that would also be portrayed in humans. It isn't that lower income people are less social, just that their social class is one that does not allow them to eat, exercise and live a healthier lifestyle compared to a higher income individual. Being "social" has very little to do with that. I do know that I am an introvert and being "social" would probably make me more sick, as the stress of being in that environment would hurt me more than benefit me.
ReplyDelete-Alex G.
I think that is a very realistic justification and reason why more "social" people have better immune systems. When I read the article I didn't think of it the way you did, but I totally agree! -Chad B
DeleteThis brings up an interesting view point on behavioral science and how it does play a role in animals/peoples health. In today's society we might think that rich people are healthier than the poor because they have the means to access more medical things and can prevent such sicknesses. Although that might be true, to some extend social interaction is important in many ways to humans. And like they say, happiness is the best medicine.
ReplyDeleteJH
This reminds me of the quote in Legally Blonde! "exercise releases endorphins. endorphins make you happy! happy people just don't shoot their husbands." Just like exercise, social interaction makes us happy! When people are confident and happy, their bodies function better. It's no surprise that a more social person would have better immune health! i lived in south america in some very unsanitary conditions, but i was always shocked to see that those people were not constantly ill. i wonder how much of that is biological and how much is their naturally social culture.
ReplyDeleteThe social 'status' of a monkey does not seem like the most reliable thing to base a finding like this on. Status is such an abstract, hard to quantify idea.
ReplyDelete-BG
This is a very interesting article seeing the effects of our social status. One thing that stood out to me was how depending on our social status, we would be able to fight off diseases better or worst. Those in higher statuses would be able to fight off the diseases much better. This could be a cause of eating better nutrients and living in a cleaner environment.
ReplyDeleteNP
Living in a higher social environment can have some significant advantages. This study says that as monkeys lived in a higher social status, they had a better chance of killing off illnesses. My question is, can you change your social status mid way through your life and your body adapt to the change, making your immune system stronger?
ReplyDeleteNP
Interesting food for thought. I'm guessing that the better immune system has little to do with being more social. I think that by being around more people you are just exposed to more diseases that your body can build up antibodies for. Could greater sickness among the poor have more to do with limited access to health care?
ReplyDeleteAbove comment by T Anderson
DeleteI am always a little skeptical of social research like this and how it relates to humans. However, exploring these findings in a monkey population is a great start to being able to look at some of the physiological effects of social behavior and isolation. It would be neat to be able to identify some of the physiological changes that occur while being social, and perhaps find how those changes might be more pronounced in some individuals than others. -- D.S.
ReplyDeleteIt's true that escaping poverty can affect our biological immune health for good. Bring people out of poverty has so many positive effects. It's interesting to me that they were able to figure out this relationship through studying monkeys. I also agree with others comments that being social can greatly impact someone's health for good.
ReplyDeleteSkyler H.
how did they test the immune system? the story make since. I would just like to know more about the experiment its self. sb
ReplyDeleteIf only every one remembered the wise words of Bill Nye, "science rules", then I think that we really could make a difference in the world. I think its amazing that we are able to do studies on animals and have actual evidence that getting people out of poverty could improve their health.
ReplyDelete-SN
When I read the title I was like "What??" I was so shocked I needed to read more about this I think it is so interesting to know how society actually impacts us and to see how something completely different can affect us so much.
ReplyDeleteSteph S.
This sounds like an intriguing article. I knew that being social had a role in your mental health but not your physical health. It's cool that more killer T cells are produced in those who are more social. -EH
ReplyDeleteThe idea that being social helps our immune system does not surprise me at all because we are social animals, it's in our nature. We as human don't like to be alone for long periods of time and it's healthy for us to interact. Study have shown this with newborns that are held more than others. It is very interesting to think that our social status affects more than we think.
ReplyDelete-B.N.K.