Pay attention to that under-the-weather feeling
People who rate their health as less than excellent more susceptible to catching colds, study shows
By Bruce Bower
Seemingly healthy people who say they don’t feel so hot are prone to developing colds, a new study finds.
Having a weakened immune system prompts individuals to rate their general health as relatively poor, even if they don’t display illness symptoms, say psychologist Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and his colleagues. Fatigue, reduced appetite and other signs of feeling off-kilter, which may be related to a weakened immune system, possibly spur reports of middling or worse health in people who then get sick when exposed to the cold virus, the researchers propose in the November/December Psychosomatic Medicine.