Table 1.

Factors that Determine whether Psychological Stress May Enhance or Suppress Immune Function

Factor	Stress-Induced Immunoenhancement	Stress-Induced Immunosuppression
Immune cell redistribution	In leukocyte-enriched compartments (eg, skin, sentinel lymphnodes)	In leukocyte-depleted compartments (eg, blood, spleen)
Duration of stress or hormone exposure	Acute (minutes to hours)	Chronic (weeks/months/years)
Concentration of hormone	Physiologic stress levels	High pharmacologic levels
Source of glucocorticoid	Endogenous	Synthetic analogues