title: Population Distributions of Thymic Function in Adults: Variation by Sociodemographic Characteristics and Health Status.
abstract: The thymus is critical for mounting an effective immune response and maintaining health. However, epidemiologic studies characterizing thymic function in the population setting are lacking. Using data from 263 adults in the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study, we examined thymic function as measured by the number of signal joint T-cell receptor excision circles (sjTREC) and assessed associations with established indicators of physiological health. Overall, increasing age and male gender were significantly associated with reduced thymic function. Adjusting for covariates, individuals with elevated levels of the pro-inflammatory biomarkers C-reactive protein (β: -0.50 [95% CI: -0.82, -0.18] for moderate elevation, β: -0.29 [95% CI: -0.59, 0.00] for high elevation) and interleukin-6 (β: -0.60 [95% CI: -0.92, -0.28] for moderate elevation, β: -0.43 [95% CI: -0.77, -0.08] for severe elevation) also had lower thymic function. Compared to individuals with a BMI < 25, individuals who were overweight (β: 0.36 [95% CI: 0.07, 0.64]) or obese (β: 0.27 [95% CI: -0.03, 0.56]) had higher thymic function. Differences by self-rated health were not statistically significant. Our findings underscore demographic- and health-related gradients in thymic function among adult residents of Detroit, suggesting thymic function may be an important biomarker of health status in adults at the population level.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health and Carolina Population Center , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina , USA.
authors.forename: Lydia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Feinstein
authors.affiliation: b Laboratory of Immunovirology, Clinic Unit of Infectious Diseases, Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine of Seville, IBiS , Virgen del Rocío University Hospital , Sevilla , Spain.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ferrando-Martínez
authors.affiliation: b Laboratory of Immunovirology, Clinic Unit of Infectious Diseases, Microbiology and Preventive Medicine, Institute of Biomedicine of Seville, IBiS , Virgen del Rocío University Hospital , Sevilla , Spain.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Leal
authors.affiliation: c Department of Biostatistics, Gillings School of Global Public Health , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina , USA.
authors.forename: Xuan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: d Duke University Human Vaccine Institute , Duke University Medical Center , Durham , North Carolina , USA.
authors.forename: Gregory D
authors.initials: GD
authors.lastname: Sempowski
authors.affiliation: e Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , Illinois , USA.
authors.forename: Derek E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Wildman
authors.affiliation: f Department of Psychology , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Champaign , Illinois , USA.
authors.forename: Monica
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uddin
authors.affiliation: a Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health and Carolina Population Center , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill , North Carolina , USA.
authors.forename: Allison E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Aiello
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000235:genetics; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D003710:Demography / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D015850:Interleukin-6 / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008824:Michigan / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell / Q000032:analysis* / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics; D066252:Sociological Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013950:Thymus Gland / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D015850:Interleukin-6; D011948:Receptors, Antigen, T-Cell; D002097:C-Reactive Protein