Seasonal variation in immunity of humans

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Abstract
A whole blood lymphocyte stimulation test (using phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A), an in vitro corollary of in vivo cell-mediated immunity, was done with blood collected twice monthly from 5 male subjects over a period of 20 mo. (Feb. 1979-Sept. 1980). Simple correlations between pairs of subjects were positive and, in general, statistically significant. For some subjects the data fit a harmonic function with an estimated peak activity in the winter of 1979, similar to previous findings with dogs. The seasonal fluctuations were analyzed for possible association with 22 environmental parameters. Selected parameters were highly specific for each subject; however, parameters directly or indirectly associated with quality and quantity of solar radiation (e.g., sunspot numbers and number of minutes between sunrise and sunset) were often chosen as predictors of lectin-induced lymphocyte transformation. No trend was observed in the correlation between environmental factors and immunity. The human subjects studied exhibit similar seasonal variation in immunity as do dogs.