title: Relation between stress and cytokine responses in inner-city mothers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Women in poor urban neighborhoods have high rates of stress and allergic diseases, but whether stress or stress correlates such as depression promote inflammatory and type 2 cytokine responses is unknown.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine associations among external stressors, perceived stress, depression, and peripheral blood mononuclear cell cytokine responses of mothers enrolled in the Urban Environment and Childhood Asthma Study and test the hypothesis that stress would be positively associated with type 2 and selected proinflammatory (tumor necrosis factor-α and interleukin-8) responses.
  
  
  METHODS
  Questionnaire data from mothers living in 4 inner cities included information about external stress, stress perception, and depression. The external stress domains (interpersonal problems, housing, and neighborhood stress) were combined into a Composite Stressor score. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were stimulated ex vivo and cytokine responses to innate, adaptive, and polyclonal immune stimuli were compared with stress and depression scores for 469 of the 606 study participants.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were no significant positive associations between Composite Stressor scores, perceived stress, or depression scores and proinflammatory or type 2 cytokine responses, and these findings were not modified by allergy or asthma status. There were some modest associations with individual stressors and cytokine responses, but no consistent relations were noted. Depression was associated with decreased responses to some stimuli, particularly dust mite.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Composite measurements of stressors, perceived stress, or depression were not positively related to proinflammatory or type 2 cytokine responses in these young urban women. These data do not support the hypothesis that these factors promote cytokine responses associated with allergy.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  ClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT00114881.
authors.affiliation: Lahey Clinic, Burlington, Massachusetts. Electronic address: dagruenberg@gmail.com.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Gruenberg
authors.affiliation: Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Rosalind J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Rho Federal Systems Division, Inc., Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Cynthia M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Visness
authors.affiliation: Rho Federal Systems Division, Inc., Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Katy F
authors.initials: KF
authors.lastname: Jaffee
authors.affiliation: Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Gordon R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Bloomberg
authors.affiliation: Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: William W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Cruikshank
authors.affiliation: Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, New York.
authors.forename: Meyer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kattan
authors.affiliation: Boston University Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Megan T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Sandel
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Gern
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000276:immunology; D016207:Cytokines / Q000276:immunology*; D003863:Depression / Q000276:immunology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006967:Hypersensitivity / Q000276:immunology; D016209:Interleukin-8 / Q000276:immunology*; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000276:immunology; D009035:Mothers; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000276:immunology*; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000276:immunology*; D014505:Urban Population; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: C508606:CXCL8 protein, human; D016207:Cytokines; D016209:Interleukin-8; C439524:TNF protein, human; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha