Consistent associations between measures of psychological stress and CMV antibody levels in a large occupational sample.
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is a herpes virus that has been implicated in biological aging and impaired health. Evidence, largely accrued from small-scale studies involving select populations, suggests that stress may promote non-clinical reactivation of this virus. However, absent is evidence from larger studies, which allow better statistical adjustment for confounding and mediating factors, in more representative samples. The present study involved a large occupational cohort (N=887, mean age=44, 88% male). Questionnaires assessed psychological (i.e., depression, anxiety, vital exhaustion, SF-12 mental health), demographic, socioeconomic (SES), and lifestyle variables. Plasma samples were analyzed for both the presence and level of CMV-specific IgG antibodies (CMV-IgG), used as markers for infection status and viral reactivation, respectively. Also assessed were potential biological mediators of stress-induced reactivation, such as inflammation (C-reactive protein) and HPA function (awakening and diurnal cortisol). Predictors of CMV infection and CMV-IgG among the infected individuals were analyzed using logistic and linear regression analyses, respectively. Confirming prior reports, lower SES (education and job status) was positively associated with infection status. Among those infected (N=329), higher CMV-IgG were associated with increased anxiety (β=.14, p<.05), depression (β=.11, p=.06), vital exhaustion (β=.14, p<.05), and decreased SF-12 mental health (β=-.14, p<.05), adjusting for a range of potential confounders. Exploratory analyses showed that these associations were generally stronger in low SES individuals. We found no evidence that elevated inflammation or HPA-function mediated any of the associations. In the largest study to date, we established associations between CMV-IgG levels and multiple indicators of psychological stress. These results demonstrate the robustness of prior findings, and extend these to a general working population. We propose that stress-induced CMV replication warrants further research as a psychobiological mechanism linking stress, aging and health.
School of Sport, Exercise, and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom; Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine (MIPH), Mannheim Medical Faculty, University of Heidelberg, Ludolf-Krehl-Str. 7-11, D-68167 Mannheim, Germany.
Jerrald L
JL
Rector
CUNY School of Public Health and CUNY Institute for Demographic Research (CIDR), One Bernard Baruch Way, New York, NY 10010, USA.
Jennifer B
JB
Dowd
Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine (MIPH), Mannheim Medical Faculty, University of Heidelberg, Ludolf-Krehl-Str. 7-11, D-68167 Mannheim, Germany; Institute of Occupational and Social Medicine, Centre for Health and Society, Faculty of Medicine, University of Düsseldorf, Universitätsstrasse 1, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany.
Adrian
A
Loerbroks
School of Sport, Exercise, and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, United Kingdom.
Victoria E
VE
Burns
Cancer Research UK Centre, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B152TT, United Kingdom.
Paul A
PA
Moss
Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine (MIPH), Mannheim Medical Faculty, University of Heidelberg, Ludolf-Krehl-Str. 7-11, D-68167 Mannheim, Germany.
Marc N
MN
Jarczok
Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany.
Tobias
T
Stalder
Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine (MIPH), Mannheim Medical Faculty, University of Heidelberg, Ludolf-Krehl-Str. 7-11, D-68167 Mannheim, Germany.
Kristina
K
Hoffman
Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine (MIPH), Mannheim Medical Faculty, University of Heidelberg, Ludolf-Krehl-Str. 7-11, D-68167 Mannheim, Germany.
Joachim E
JE
Fischer
Mannheim Institute of Public Health, Social and Preventive Medicine (MIPH), Mannheim Medical Faculty, University of Heidelberg, Ludolf-Krehl-Str. 7-11, D-68167 Mannheim, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Weesperplein 4, 1018 XA Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Laboratory of Integrated Physiology, Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA. Electronic address: j.a.bosch@uva.nl.
Jos A
JA
Bosch
D000328:Adult; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood*; D003587:Cytomegalovirus / Q000276:immunology; D003586:Cytomegalovirus Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000276:immunology*
D000914:Antibodies, Viral
Anxiety; CMV; Cytomegalovirus; Depression; Herpes virus; Mental health; Psychological stress; Psychoneuroimmunology; Reactivation; Socioeconomic status; Vital exhaustion