title: Association of general fatigue with cellular immune indicators among healthy white-collar employees.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although fatigue is a common complaint in the working population, underlying immunological mechanisms are not well understood. This study investigated the association of general fatigue with cellular immune indicators.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 148 healthy white-collar employees (70% men) underwent a blood draw for the measurement of natural killer (NK), B, and T cell counts as well as NK cell cytotoxicity (NKCC) and completed two different fatigue scales, that is, Profile of Mood State (POMS) and Maastricht Questionnaire (MQ).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that POMS fatigue score was significantly associated with decreases of NK cells (β = -.407) and NKCC (β = -.215), whereas MQ fatigue score was significantly associated with reduced NK cells (β = -.290) but not with NKCC (β = -.127).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that general fatigue may be related to impaired NK cell competency among healthy employees.
authors.affiliation: Division of Applied Research and Technology, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cincinnati, Ohio 45226, USA. nakataatky@umin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Akinori
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nakata
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Irie
authors.forename: Masaya
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Takahashi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001402:B-Lymphocytes; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003602:Cytotoxicity, Immunologic; D005221:Fatigue / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007694:Killer Cells, Natural / Q000276:immunology*; D016014:Linear Models; D018655:Lymphocyte Count; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000276:immunology*; D016272:Occupational Health; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013601:T-Lymphocytes; D055815:Young Adult