Association between effort-reward-imbalance and pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokine levels in response to acute psychosocial stress
Bellingrath, S.1, Wüst, S.2, and Kudielka, B. M.1
1Jacobs Center on Lifelong Learning and Institutional Development, Jacobs University Bremen; 2Abteilung Genetische Epidemiologie, Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit Mannheim
Individuals with chronic work stress show an increased risk for cardiovascular disease. As low-grade systemic inflammation crucially contributes to the development of atherosclerosis, we explored potential relationships between effort-reward-imbalance (ERI) and cytokines in response to acute psychosocial stress (Trier-Social-Stress-Test). Subjects with higher levels of ERI showed higher TNF-alpha-levels before and after stress. Further, higher ERI was associated with significantly elevated pre-stress IL6-levels and no further increase after stress exposure. IL6-levels of subjects with lower ERI, however, increased as did IL10-levels. IL10-levels decreased with higher ERI after stress. While IL6/IL10 and TNF-alpha/IL10-ratios increased in response to stress, significantly higher ratios were observed in subjects with higher compared to lower ERI. These findings suggest an overall increased pro-inflammatory activity related to chronic work stress.