Social life nothing to sneeze at.

In the battle against the common cold, heavy doses of social interaction may provide as much or more help than such time-honored balms as plenty of rest and orange juice.

Individuals who move in a wide circle of family members, friends, and acquaintances gain powerful protection against infection with cold viruses, report psychologist Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and his coworkers.

The physiological basis of the protection sparked by diverse social ties remains unclear, the scientists note in the June 25 Journal of the American Medical Association Cohen is also conducting studies of monkeys aimed at illuminating the ways in which social standing affects susceptibility to infection (SN: 6/21/97, p. 381).

The new study consists of 125 men and 151 women, all in good physical health and ranging in age from 18 to 55. Volunteers first reported the extent to which they interacted with other people, including spouses, parents, children, friends, coworkers, and fellow members of various volunteer and religious groups. They then received nasal drops containing a cold virus. For the next 5 days, participants were housed individually and allowed to interact with each other only at a distance of at least 3 feet.

During that time, physiological signs of viral infection and obvious cold symptoms rose sharply among those who had cited the fewest types of social relationships, the investigators report. This pattern held regardless of age, sex, race, amount of education, or whether trials occurred in the fall or the spring. Cigarette smoking, sleep problems, alcohol abstinence, low vitamin C intake, and being introverted accounted only in part for the run of colds in socially restricted folks.