Stress, immunity and tuberculosis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the relationship between psychosocial stress, immune function and tuberculosis risk among migrants and non-migrants: a mixed methods study
IRAS ID
278478
Contact name
Jon S Friedland
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
St George's, University of London
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
With an estimated 1.5 million deaths worldwide in 2018, tuberculosis (TB) remains the leading cause of death from an infectious disease. There is evidence that psychological stress and mental illness can influence immune function and infectious disease risk. However, this relationship has never been studied for TB. This is despite the fact that TB patients are known to have a high prevalence of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. Given the association between TB and poverty, and between poverty and chronic stressors, many TB patients are likely to have been exposed to psychological stress before TB infection or the development of clinical disease.
Migrants are a particularly important group in which to explore the relationship between stress and TB, as they experience a high burden of TB in the UK, and may be exposed to different kinds of stressors at different points along the migration trajectory. No existing research explores whether such stressors in migrants could influence their TB risk.
This mixed methods study will explore the relationships between stress, mental health, immune function and TB. Qualitative interviews will be used to explore the lived experiences of migrants to the UK with a diagnosis of active TB disease, analysing migrants’ own accounts of stress. Questionnaire tools will be used to assess stress and mental health among patients with a diagnosis of active TB disease in a quantitative manner. Immune response will be measured by assessing biological markers in a blood sample. This will enable a holistic investigation of the association between stress, mental health and immune response in TB patients, as well as how any observed patterns relate to migrant status.
This study is led by researchers at St George's, University of London and will take place at St George's Hospital. It is funded by the Medical Research Council.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
21/PR/0338
Date of REC Opinion
13 May 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion