Schizophrenia caregivers take health hit

Caring for a mentally ill relative appears, under some circumstances, to render caregivers more susceptible to infectious illnesses.

Dyck, D.G., R. Short, and P.P. Vitaliano. 1999. Predictors of burden and infectious illness in schizophrenia caregivers. Psychosomatic Medicine 61(July/August):411.

Grant, I. 1999. Caregivng may be hazardous to your health. Psychosomatic Medicine 61(July/August):420.

Bower, B. 1991. Questions of mind over immunity. Science News 139(April 6):216.

Dennis G. Dyck
Washington State University
Washington Institute for Mental Illness
Research and Training
601 West First Avenue
Spokane, WA 99201-3899

Igor Grant
University of California, San Diego
Department of Psychiatry
VA San Diego Healthcare System
La Jolla, CA 92093-0680

From Science News, Vol. 156, No. 8, August 21, 1999, p. 119. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.