Chunk #43 — CAUSAL LINKS BETWEEN NEUROTICISM AND ADVERSE OUTCOMES — Causal Links Between Neuroticism and Physical Health Problems — Neuroticism and Physiological Stress Reactivity
and is correlated with abnormalities of the immune system (Bouhuys et al., 2004). Higher neuroticism has been found to be associated with more prolonged suppression of secretory immunoglobulin following a stressor (Hennig, Possel, & Netter, 1996), atypical response of natural killer cells to stress (Borella et al., 1999), diminished antibody response to vaccination (Phillips et al., 2005), and higher leukocyte counts (Daruna, 1996). Leukocyte count is important because it is indicator of inflammation and chronic infection and is a strong predictor of mortality from all causes, particularly from cardiovascular disease (Margolis et al., 2005).
