• Korean Journal of Psychosomatic Medicine
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.196-202
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• 1999

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of vitamin B complex on stress-induced immune alteration. 21 medical students participated in the study 4 weeks before an academic examination period(baseline), 2 weeks before the exam period and during the exam period. Among them, 10 subjects were given vitamin B complex for 4 weeks, and 11 were not given vitamin B during the whole period. Cell-mediated immune function was measured by lymphocyte proliferative response to phytohemagglutinin(PHA) and interleukin-2(IL-2) production. Global assessment of recent stress(GARS) scale and symptom checklist-90-revised(SCL-90-R) were used to measure the level of subjective stress and psychopathology. Vitamin group had significantly lower scores of anxiety scale on SCL-90-R than non-vitamin group. No significant differences were found in lymphocyte proliferative response to PHA and IL-2 production between vitamin and non-vitamin groups during each period. There were no significant differences in change of of each of the two immune parameters over time as well as between vitamin and non-vitamin groups. However, lymphocyte proliferative response to PHA was significantly increased over time. In conclusion, it was suggested that vitamin B complex is likely to decrease anxiety level, and that exam stress might enhance lymphocyte proliferation regardless of vitamin B.