When grief makes you sick: bereavement induced systemic inflammation is a question of genotype.
Although bereavement is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in the surviving spouse, some widow(er)s remain healthy. Genetic variability in expression of inflammatory markers in response to stress may be the key to this observation. The present study compares bereaved vs. married/partnered older adults, investigating the impact of bereavement status, pro-inflammatory cytokine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) on circulating markers of inflammation and hypothesizing a gene by environment (GxE) effect. The study sample included 64 older adults, of which 36 were widow(er)s. Circulating levels of inflammatory markers IL-6, IL-1RA and sTNFRII were measured. Participants were genotyped for SNPs in the IL-6 gene (IL-6 -174 and -572), the IL-1β gene (IL-1β -511), and TNF-α gene (TNF-α -308). Grief severity was assessed with the Inventory of Complicated Grief. Bereaved participants had higher circulating levels of IL-1RA and IL-6. This increase could not be explained by pro-inflammatory genotype frequency differences, or Complicated Grief diagnosis. However, a GxE effect with the IL-6 -174 SNP moderated individual vulnerability to higher circulating levels of inflammation resulting from bereavement exposure. These results suggest a possible mechanism for the increase in morbidity and mortality in the surviving spouse. Genetic variability interacts with an environmental stressor, leading to increased inflammatory markers in genetically susceptible subjects only. For these patients, clinical interventions for bereavement-related stressor reduction might be crucial for overall health.
Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
Christian R
CR
Schultze-Florey
Otoniel
O
Martínez-Maza
Larry
L
Magpantay
Elizabeth Crabb
EC
Breen
Michael R
MR
Irwin
Harald
H
Gündel
Mary-Frances
MF
O'Connor
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015992:Body Mass Index; D004247:DNA / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017931:DNA Primers; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D059647:Gene-Environment Interaction; D005838:Genotype; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000235:genetics* / Q000523:psychology*; D053583:Interleukin-1beta / Q000235:genetics; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D053573:Receptors, Interleukin-1 Type I / Q000097:blood; D047889:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II / Q000097:blood; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000235:genetics
D017931:DNA Primers; D053583:Interleukin-1beta; D015850:Interleukin-6; D053573:Receptors, Interleukin-1 Type I; D047889:Receptors, Tumor Necrosis Factor, Type II; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D004247:DNA