Mental resilience, perceived health and immune status

Introduction: An association has been suggested between subjective health and immune status, and feeling vital. Those reporting reduced perceived immune functioning or lower health levels commonly also report reduced vitality. While vitality is often viewed as a physical aspect of health, mental resilience, i.e. the ability to bounce back, is equally important in the overall experience of good health and a high quality of life. However, scientific data on the relationship between perceived immune functioning and mental resilience is limited. Aim of the study: To examine the relationship between mental resilience and perceived health and immune status. Methods: A survey was conducted among healthy young Dutch adults aged 18-40 years old. Mental resilience was assessed using the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS) [1]. The BRS consists of six items that can be answered using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. An average mental resilience score is computed ranging from 0 to 6, with higher scores implying stronger mental resilience. Perceived immune functioning and perceived health status was scored from 0 (very poor) to 10 (excellent), using single item questions. In addition, the Immune Function Questionnaire (IFQ) was completed [2]. The IFQ includes 19 items on weakened immune system functioning, such as sore throat, flu, cold sores, ear infection, and sudden high fever. The frequency of these immune related illnesses (Never = 0, Once or twice = 1, Occasionally = 2, Regularly = 3, Frequently = 4) was scored on a 5-point Likert scale. The overall IFQ-score ranges from 0 to 76, with higher scores implying worse immune functioning. Results: A total of N= 456 participants completed the survey. Their mean (SD) age was 21.5 (2.9) years old, and 38.1% of the sample were men. Overall, the sample was young and healthy, as illustrated by the mean (± SD) score on perceived health (7.5±1.0), perceived immune functioning (7.7±1.1), and IFQ immune score (11.8±5.9). The mean (SD) mental resilience score was 3.4 (0.7). Mental resilience correlated significantly with scores of perceived health (r = 0.254, p = 0.0001), perceived immune functioning (r = 0.210, p = 0.0001), and the IFQ immune score (r = -0.236, p = 0.0001). The observed associations were stronger in women when compared to men. For example, the correlation between mental resilience and perceived health status in women (r = 0.284, p = 0.0001) was significantly higher when compared to the same association in men (r = 0.154, p = 0.047). Those who reported reduced perceived immune functioning (25.2% of the sample), had significantly lower scores of perceived health (7.3 versus 7.6, p = 0.001), perceived immune functioning (7.1 versus 7.9, p = 0.0001), and metal resilience (3.3 versus 3.5, p = 0.005) when compared to participants reporting a healthy immune status. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest a clear relationship between perceived health and immune status and mental resilience.