The quantity and quality of studies that report a link between stress and poor health is such that it seems to be a definitive finding at this point. However, there is a relatively new study that suggests that stress not only has a negative impact on the person experiencing the stress, it could also have negative effects on the person’s children.

In a study conducted by Dr. Mary Caserta and colleagues from the University of Rochester 169 ethnically diverse 5 to 10 year old children were followed for a 3 year period. Each child was seen in a clinic at about every six months. At these visits their levels of natural killer cells was evaluated, which is a measure of how hard the child’s immune system is working. Parents also record their children’s health status, including their temperature every week. The parents also recorded every time their children got sick.

The parents completed surveys about their own stress levels as well as how much stress their family was experiencing. They also completed questionnaires about their level of depression and anxiety and the nature of their relationship with their children.

Dr Caserta reports that children of parents who had high levels of emotional stress had more total number of illnesses, with and without fever, over the three year period. These children also had higher immune cell activity suggesting that their immune cells were working harder.

These findings provide another profound indication of the negative impact of stress. The next question would be if lowering stress can improve children’s health. If this is the case the implications become even more profound. By identifying sources of stress in life and by taking measures to lower this stress you may not only improve your own health but also that of your children.

Further Reading:

Peter A. Wyman, PhD; Jan Moynihan, PhD; Shirley Eberly, MS; Christopher Cox, PhD; Wendi Cross, PhD; Xia Jin, MD, PhD; Mary T. Caserta, MD. Association of Family Stress With Natural Killer Cell Activity and the Frequency of Illnesses in Children. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. 2007;161:228-234.