title: Social support and socioeconomic status interact to predict Epstein-Barr virus latency in women awaiting diagnosis or newly diagnosed with breast cancer.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Both higher socioeconomic status (SES) and supportive personal relationships confer health benefits, including better immune function. This study assessed the joint impact of SES and social support on the expression of a latent herpesvirus, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), in a group of highly stressed women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two-hundred and twenty four women either awaiting further evaluation following an abnormal mammogram or newly diagnosed with breast cancer completed questionnaires and provided blood samples to assess EBV viral capsid antigen (VCA) IgG antibody titers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  More highly educated women with more support from friends had lower EBV VCA antibody titers, reflecting a stronger cellular immune response to the latent virus; however, among less educated women, friend support was not associated with EBV antibody titers. As revealed in an ancillary analysis, more highly educated women with more friend support had lower systolic blood pressure (SBP); however, friend support was not associated with SBP among less educated women. Neither depression nor perceived stress mediated these associations. Neither cancer status nor cancer stage among those diagnosed with cancer was significantly related to these outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Lower SES women may not reap the same immunological benefits from friend support when experiencing a stressful life event as their higher SES counterparts.
authors: Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, The Ohio State University, College of Medicine, 460 Medical Center Drive, Columbus, OH 43210, USA. christopher.fagundes@osumc.edu
authors: Christopher P
authors: CP
authors: Fagundes
authors: Jeanette M
authors: JM
authors: Bennett
authors: Catherine M
authors: CM
authors: Alfano
authors: Ronald
authors: R
authors: Glaser
authors: Stephen P
authors: SP
authors: Povoski
authors: Adele M
authors: AM
authors: Lipari
authors: Doreen M
authors: DM
authors: Agnese
authors: Lisa D
authors: LD
authors: Yee
authors: William E
authors: WE
authors: Carson
authors: William B
authors: WB
authors: Farrar
authors: William B
authors: WB
authors: Malarkey
authors: Min
authors: M
authors: Chen
authors: Janice K
authors: JK
authors: Kiecolt-Glaser
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000906:Antibodies / Q000276:immunology; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000276:immunology / Q000523:psychology*; D036022:Capsid Proteins; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009367:Neoplasm Staging; D012923:Social Class; D012944:Social Support; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000276:immunology*; D017735:Virus Latency / Q000276:immunology*
chemical_list: D000906:Antibodies; D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D000956:Antigens, Viral; D036022:Capsid Proteins; C041788:Epstein-Barr viral capsid antigen