Adrenocortical and Behavioral Predictors of Immune Responses to Starting School

Abstract

Associations between major psychologic stressors and immune function have been documented in previous research, but few studies have investigated immune changes attending minor, normative stressors. This study examined adrenocortical and behavioral predictors of immune responses to starting kindergarten in 39 five-year-old children, who completed laboratory visits for venipunctures 1 wk before (time 1) and 1 wk after (time 2) school entry. At time 1, children were also immunized with pneumococcal vaccine. Immune responses were measured as change scores for T (CD4+ and CD8+) cells, B (CD19+) cells, lymphoproliferative responses to pokeweed mitogen (PWM), and type-specific pneumococcal antibody responses (ABR). Adrenocortical response was assessed as the change in salivary cortisol level, and behavioral difficulty with school adjustment was scored using parental ratings of behavior problems, stress due to changes in routines, and degree of adaptive challenge. Salivary cortisol rose after lundergarten entry (means = 0.39 ? 0.28 to 0.49 ? 0.36 pg/dL, p = 0.03) and was unrelated to behavioral difficulties. CD4+ cells increased in number, whereas PWM declined, and ~D 1 9 + cells showed a borderline increase. Change in salivary cortisol was positively associated with change in ~~1 9~ (ACD19+) and inversely related to ABR. Scores for behavioral difficulty were inversely associated with A C D~+ and Among the most striking and reliable epidemiologic features of disease in childhood populations is the uneven, nonrandom character of morbidity distributions. Approximately 15-20% of children incur the majority of illness visits in primary care settings and sustain over 50% of the overall population morbidity (1, 2). This maldistribution of pediatric morbidity and

Salivary cortisol and heart rate in stunted and nonstunted Nepalese school children

“…One plausible explanation for the raised levels of salivary cortisol in both groups of Nepalese children, compared with children in different studies, could relate to their burden of disease or immune function (Boyce et al, 1995). Although children who were obviously ill were excluded from the study, no information was collected regarding illness.…”

Antibody response to vaccination and psychosocial stress in humans: relationships and mechanisms

“…The earlier study was carried out in five-year-old children, who were administered the pneumococcal vaccination one week before the start of kindergarten [55]. Ratings of problem behaviour were not associated with antibody response to the vaccine.…”

“…Cortisol reactivity is calculated as the post-stress cortisol level minus baseline. Children showing the greatest cortisol reaction to the stress of starting kindergarten had the poorest response to pneumococcal vaccination [55]. Similarly, relative to individuals with high hepatitis B antibody titres, those with low titres were characterised by more positive cortisol reactions to an acute laboratory time-pressured, socially evaluated mental arithmetic task [72].…”

Mechanisms linking early life stress to adult health outcomes

“…This phase is marked by studies that link a particular psychological or social variable to an underlying physiological parameter with potential health implications. For example, studies of medical students facing examinations and kindergarten children beginning school reveal changes in immune functioning potentially prognostic for adverse health outcomes, including changes in numbers of total t-lymphocytes, natural killer cell cytotoxicity, and lymphocyte responsivity to mitogenic stimulation (e.g., 8,9). These early studies represented breakthroughs in the understanding of stress and health because they begin to identify the biological systems that stress affects and how they are affected.…”