Immune, endocrine and cardiovascular responses to controllable and uncontrollable acute stress.
This study, using a triadic-yoked design, clarified the effects of controllability of acute stress on responses of immune, cardiovascular (heart rate and blood pressure), and cortisol activities. Forty-three women in their follicular phase completed a mental arithmetic task as a stressor in which controllability was manipulated by correct or yoked-bogus feedback. The task decreased proportions of CD3+ T cells, CD4+ T cells, and CD19+ B cells, whereas it increased the numbers of white blood cells, lymphocytes, natural killer (NK) cells, and NK cell activity (NKCA). Our main hypothesis that greater immune and cardiovascular responses to the task would be obtained under the uncontrollable condition than under the controllable condition was not supported. However, the uncontrollable stress condition, but not the controllable situation, led to higher correlations between heart rate or blood pressure, and various immune parameters. On the other hand, parameters of heart rate variability reflecting sympathetic and parasympathetic activities showed significant correlations only with NKCA. These results suggest that immune responses were most directly associated with cardiovascular activities under the uncontrollable condition.
Mie Prefectural College of Nursing, 1-1-1 Yumegaoka, Tsu 514-0116, Japan. tokiko.isowa@mcn.ac.jp
Tokiko
T
Isowa
Hideki
H
Ohira
Seikou
S
Murashima
D000208:Acute Disease; D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D001402:B-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology; D017252:CD3 Complex / Q000276:immunology*; D015704:CD4 Antigens / Q000276:immunology*; D004562:Electrocardiography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D008297:Male; D015260:Neprilysin / Q000276:immunology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D013601:T-Lymphocytes / Q000276:immunology*
D017252:CD3 Complex; D015704:CD4 Antigens; D015260:Neprilysin; D006854:Hydrocortisone