Trait Hostility and Acute Inflammatory Responses to Stress in the Laboratory

PLoS One. 2016 Jun 6;11(6):e0156329. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0156329. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Hostility has been associated with higher basal levels of inflammation. The present study evaluated the association of hostility with acute stress-induced changes in inflammatory activity. One hundred and ninety-nine healthy men and women, aged 19-64 years, were exposed to a stress protocol involving four interpersonal stressors. Participants completed the Cook-Medley Hostility questionnaire and provided two blood samples for the measurement of inflammatory biomarkers (CRP, Il-6, MPO, TNF-α, MCP-1, Il-8, Il-10, and Il-18), prior to and following exposure to a standardized stress protocol. In univariate analyses, hostility was associated with significantly higher TNF-α, but lower Il-8 and Il-18 values post-stress, though only Il-8 remained significant after controlling for baseline differences. In multivariate analyses, a significant Age by Hostility interaction emerged for Il-6, while sex moderated the relation between hostility and Il-10 reactivity. Following stress, hostility was associated with greater pro-inflammatory Il-6 activity among younger individuals and to decreased anti-inflammatory Il-10 activity in women. Future research is needed to replicate these findings and to evaluate their implication for disease.

MeSH terms

  • Acute Disease
  • Adult
  • Female
  • Hostility*
  • Humans
  • Inflammation / blood
  • Inflammation / psychology*
  • Interleukin-10 / blood
  • Laboratories
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Personality Inventory
  • Personality*
  • Role Playing
  • Stress, Psychological / blood
  • Stress, Psychological / immunology*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • IL10 protein, human
  • Interleukin-10

Grants and funding

This study was supported by grants awarded to Dr D’Antono by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR; MOP #79456 and #111017) and the Montreal Heart Institute Foundation. The funders had no role in study design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.