Immune function of earthquake rescuers after proper rest and adjustment

Objective To study the changes of immune function in soldiers of armed police who participated earthquake rescue after 2-year rest and adjustment as well as psychological education. Methods A total of 308 male soldiers who participated in Wenchuan earthquake rescue were recruited in this study and 50 age-matched adult males served as controls.Parameters of T,B,NK cell subpopulations were detected by EPICS XL flow cytometry and those of blood cells were detected with a XE-2100 hematology analyzer. Results The number of red blood cells（RBC） and the level of hemoglobin（Hb） were significantly higher in earthquake rescuers than in controls（P＜0.01）.The number of CD³⁺,CD³⁺CD⁴⁺,CD3^-CD19⁺ and CD3^-CD56⁺ was greater in earthquake rescuers than in controls（P＜0.05）.However,no significant difference was observed in CD³⁺CD⁸⁺ and CD4/CD8 between earthquake rescuers and controls（P＞0.05）.The number of CD3^-CD19⁺ was also significantly higher in earthquake rescuers than in controls（P＜0.05）. Conclusion The immune function of earthquake rescuers is improved after proper rest and adjustment as well as psychological education when their age is not considered.