Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1988. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (SF) - SATURDAY August 13, 1988 Edition: FINAL Section: NEWS Page: A15 Word Count: 367
Diane Curtis, Chronicle Staff Writer
"Clinically, the results are disappointing," said Thomas J. Coates, co-director of the UC San Francisco Center for AIDS Prevention Studies.
He said eight, two-hour sessions and one all-day meeting to train 32 gay men infected with human immunodeficiency virus - HIV - in relaxation techniques, good health habits and stress management had no effect on their immune systems.
Coates said the sessions, which included group support such as making pacts to adopt healthy habits, did prompt the men to adopt safer sex practices.
"From a public health viewpoint - that these men are practicing safer sex - the results are encouraging," said Coates, who is associate professor in the division of general internal medicine.
The study was released yesterday at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Atlanta. It was designed to test the hypothesis that group stress-reduction training could improve the immune system and strengthen the system's defense against disease.
Except for testing positive for the AIDS virus, all the subjects were in good health. Blood tests administered before and after the stress-management program found little change in the number of T-helper cells or helper to suppressor T-cell ratios, indicating no improvement in their immune systems.
Coates, who worked with Leon McKusick of the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, Dr. Daniel P. Stiles, director of the UCSF Immunology Lab and Richard Kuno, a medical student, offered several possible reasons for the failure of the stress-reduction program to improve the immune system.
He said that sadness at the end of the program may have caused deterioration of the immune system, the sessions may not have been intense enough or the fact that the men knew they were HIV-positive might have induced more anxiety and stress.
"This may be indicative of the dilemma faced by members of the San Francisco community," he said. "As individuals seek to cope with an epidemic in their environment and protect their own health, the anxiety associated with coping collides with the need to reduce stress and conduct good health maintenance."
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