---
title: "Psych News Alert: People With Mental Illness May Experience More Colds"
description: If you've experienced mental illness during the past year, you also may have had more than your share of colds. So suggests a study head...
---

[Psych News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org)

# [Psych News Alert: People With Mental Illness May Experience More Colds](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/people-with-mental-illness-may.html)

 Written by [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) | 10/29/12 4:00 AM

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If you've experienced mental illness during the past year, you also may have had more than your share of colds. So suggests a study headed by Roselind Lieb, Ph.D., a professor of clinical psychology and epidemiology at the University of Basel in Switzerland and reported in the *Journal of Psychosomatic Research. *The study was based on a representative population sample of more than 4,000 German adults aged 18 to 65. The researchers found that having a *DSM-IV *mental disorder was associated with a 44% higher risk of having had a cold during the previous year. The reasons for the link are unclear, but Lieb told *Psychiatric News* that her leading explanation "is that mental disorders and a weakened immune system may share underlying vulnerability factors such as early-life stress, and stress caused by mental disorders leads to a maladaptive immune system and a lower threshold for the development of colds."

More information about the connection between the mind and the immune system can be found in *Psychiatric News<http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsArticle.aspx?articleid=1284629>* [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsArticle.aspx?articleid=1284629)  and [here](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/newsArticle.aspx?articleid=1384231) .

(Image: grafvision/Shutterstock.com)

[View full post](https://alert.psychnews.org/2012/10/people-with-mental-illness-may.html)

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