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Cited by 161Thermal Regulation in MedicineTryptophan and brain disordersSepsis Diagnosis and Treatment

Fever and sickness behavior: Friend or foe?

Harden, L.M., Kent, S., Pittman, Q.J., Roth, J.·2015·Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
DOI 10.1016/j.bbi.2015.07.012
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Abstract

Fever has been recognized as an important symptom of disease since ancient times. For many years, fever was treated as a putative life-threatening phenomenon. More recently, it has been recognized as an important part of the body's defense mechanisms; indeed at times it has even been used as a therapeutic agent. The knowledge of the functional role of the central nervous system in the genesis of fever has greatly improved over the last decade. It is clear that the febrile process, which develops in the sick individual, is just one of many brain-controlled sickness symptoms. Not only will the sick individual appear "feverish" but they may also display a range of behavioral changes, such as anorexia, fatigue, loss of interest in usual daily activities, social withdrawal, listlessness or malaise, hyperalgesia, sleep disturbances and cognitive dysfunction, collectively termed "sickness behavior". In this review we consider the issue of whether fever and sickness behaviors are friend or foe during: a critical illness, the common cold or influenza, in pregnancy and in the newborn. Deciding whether these sickness responses are beneficial or harmful will very much shape our approach to the use of antipyretics during illness.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.bbi.2015.07.012

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  • Several studies did not find an association between cytokines (TNF, IL-6) and sleep disturbances.

    “several studies did not find an association between cytokines (TNF, IL-6) and sleep disturbances”

    From The Sleep-Immune Crosstalk in Health and Disease (2019) · cites this paper as [231]

  • Some studies reported a loss of association between sleep disturbances and CRP after adjustment for interfering factors, or did not detect a significant association.

    “some studies reported a loss of association after adjustment for interfering factors (602), or did not detect a significant association between indices of sleep disturbances and CRP”

    From The Sleep-Immune Crosstalk in Health and Disease (2019) · cites this paper as [231]

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Authors
Harden, L. M., Kent, S., Pittman, Q. J., & Roth, J.
Affiliations
  • University of the Witwatersrand (ZA)
  • La Trobe University (AU)
  • University of Calgary (CA)
  • Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen (DE)
Corresponding author
Harden, L.M.
ORCID
Venue
Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2015-11
Volume
50
Pages
322-333
ISSN
0889-1591 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.bbi.2015.07.012
OpenAlex
W916617119
Semantic Scholar
7f152bb3245cf3d44b50fd589abe5d75437692d2
Cited by
161
References
154
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 15 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 42 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 3
FWCI
2.14
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Brain Behavior and Immunity (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Critical Care and Intensive Care Medicine › Thermal Regulation in Medicine
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Sepsis Diagnosis and Treatment
Keywords
fever, sickness behavior, anorexia, fatigue, social withdrawal, hyperalgesia, sleep disorders, cognitive impairment, critical illness, common cold, influenza, pregnancy, neonates, antipyretics, host defense
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Animals, Brain, Child, Common Cold, Female, Fever, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Inflammation, Influenza, Human, Middle Aged, Pregnancy, Risk Factors, Illness Behavior, Young Adult, Antipyretics

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