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Human Aggression and Enumerative Measures of Immunity

From the Behavioral Endocrinology Laboratory, Department of Biobehavioral Health (D.A.G.), and Department of Sociology (A.B.), Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; and Department of Sociology (D.R.J.), University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE.

Address reprint requests to: Douglas A. Granger, Department of Biobehavioral Health, 315 Health and Human Development East, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802. Email: dag11{at}psu.edu

OBJECTIVE: A pattern of clinical, behavioral, and experimental findings suggests that individual differences in aggressive behavior may be related to immunologic processes. We evaluated two conflicting models of the relationship: 1) A positive association stems from an adaptive mechanism protecting aggressive individuals from increased exposure to immune stimuli and 2) a negative association is due to potential immunosuppressive effects of high testosterone levels.

METHODS: We investigated the models using enumerative measures of cellular and humoral immunity in a sample of 4415 men aged 30 to 48 years who were interviewed and underwent a medical examination.

RESULTS: Analysis revealed positive (and curvilinear) associations between aggressive behavior and enumerative measures of helper/inducer and suppressor/cytolytic T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes. The aggression-immunity relationship was independent of testosterone level, age, current health status, and negative health behaviors and was most pronounced for helper/inducer T cells. There was no evidence of a negative association between testosterone and any immune measure.

CONCLUSIONS: In a large sample of men, individual differences in aggressive behavior were positively associated with enumerative measures of cellular immunity.

Key Words: aggression • cellular immunity • testosterone • health behavior • health status

Abbreviations: CDC = Centers for Disease Control; DSM-III =Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders,third edition; Ig = immunoglobulin; PBS = phosphate-bufferedsaline; RT = room temperature.

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