The Comprehensive Cancer Center, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA; The Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research, Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, USA.
University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2020 Dec;122:104870. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104870. Epub 2020 Sep 16.
Worry increases risk for long-term health issues by prolonging the physiological stress response. In contrast, relaxation may ameliorate the psychological and physiological burden resulting from worry. This study examined the impact of experimentally induced worry and relaxation on cortisol, heart rate variability (HRV), and inflammation.
Participants (N = 80) completed both a worry and relaxation induction (presented in a fixed order) while HRV was collected continuously. Three blood samples were taken (at baseline, after the worry induction, and after the relaxation induction) to measure IL-6, IFN-γ, TNF-α and serum cortisol.
There were significant changes in IL-6 (p < 0.001), IFN-γ (p < 0.01), HRV (p < .001), and cortisol (p < .001) but not in TNF-α (p = 0.65) across conditions. HRV decreased significantly from baseline to worry and then increased following relaxation. IL-6 was higher during relaxation compared to worry and baseline. Cortisol decreased significantly across conditions. Several patterns of covariance between inflammation and HRV and/or cortisol also emerged.
These findings offer novel insight into how worry influences the immune system and emphasize the utility of a multi-methods approach to understanding the impact of worry on physical health.
担忧通过延长生理应激反应，增加了长期健康问题的风险。相比之下，放松可能会减轻担忧带来的心理和生理负担。本研究旨在探讨实验诱发的担忧和放松对皮质醇、心率变异性（HRV）和炎症的影响。
80 名参与者（N=80）在固定顺序下完成了担忧和放松诱导，同时连续采集 HRV 数据。采集了三个血样以测量 IL-6、IFN-γ、TNF-α 和血清皮质醇：基线时、担忧诱导后和放松诱导后。
在不同条件下，IL-6（p<0.001）、IFN-γ（p<0.01）、HRV（p<0.001）和皮质醇（p<0.001）发生了显著变化，但 TNF-α（p=0.65）没有变化。HRV 从基线到担忧再到放松后显著降低。与担忧和基线相比，放松时 IL-6 更高。皮质醇在不同条件下均显著降低。炎症与 HRV 和/或皮质醇之间的几种协变模式也出现了。
这些发现为担忧如何影响免疫系统提供了新的见解，并强调了采用多方法来理解担忧对身体健康影响的重要性。
