Study: Stress during isolation worsens corona symptoms
7/12/2020
The severity of symptoms of the Corona virus varies from person to person. While some patients experience mild symptoms, others need hospitalization, and a new study suggests that stress increases the severity of the symptoms of the virus.
The study, conducted by researchers from Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania, concluded that feeling the tension associated with isolation makes the symptoms of the Corona virus more severe because it weakens the body.
Many people may feel lonely during isolation at home, especially if they live alone, which creates high levels of anxiety and depression. And previous studies indicated that anxiety may worsen influenza symptoms.
The study showed how important social and psychological factors are when it comes to infection and disease.
"If you have a diverse social network, you tend to take better care of yourself, for example by not smoking, getting more sleep and exercising," said Professor Sheldon Cohan, the study's co-author.
And if people realize that the people who live with them within their social network will help them during their feelings of stress or hardship, this reduces anxiety and its impact on their health, according to the British newspaper Express.
Prof. Cohan explained that social people are less likely to develop severe cases of the Corona virus.
"During our study, we deliberately exposed people to cold and influenza viruses, and we examined whether psychological and social factors predict how effective the immune system is in suppressing infection, or preventing or reducing the severity of the disease," he added.
In a series of studies, Professor Cohan found that participants with "personal stress" had a greater chance of developing a higher respiratory illness when exposed to cold viruses, and this applies to the response to the Coronavirus.
