Association of Psychological Stress Response of Fatigue with White Blood Cell Count in Male Daytime Workers

Abstract

Relationships between work-related psychological and physical stress responses and counts of white blood cells (WBCs), neutrophils, and lymphocytes were investigated in 101 daytime workers. Counts of WBCs and neutrophils were positively associated with smoking and inversely correlated with high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol levels. Additionally, general fatigue score as measured by the profile of mood state was positively correlated with WBC and neutrophil counts whereas lymphocyte counts was not significantly associated with fatigue score. Multiple regression analysis showed that WBC count was significantly related to general fatigue, age, and HDL-cholesterol levels. Neutrophil count was significantly related to HDL-cholesterol levels and fatigue score. Among various psychological stress response variables, general fatigue may be a key determinant of low-grade inflammation as represented by increases of WBC and neutrophil counts.

Effect of stress on alteration of haematological parameters: A preliminary study on preclinical medical students in Malaysia

“…On the other hand, the major finding of studies that investigated the effect of stress on WBCs was a positive association between each of them (Maes et al, 1999;Nishitani and Sakakibara, 2014). However, the present study shows a reversed finding compared to these studies.…”

“…In a study conducted to examine the effects of academic examination stress on WBCs subset distribution in university students, students who respond to academic examination stress with a strong psychological reaction showed a significant increase of WBCs count (Maes et al, 1999). Moreover, another experimental investigation conducted to reveal the association between work-related psychological stress responses in Japanese workers (Nishitani and Sakakibara, 2014). This study demonstrated that stress levels were significantly related with the fatigue score and increased WBCs count, which was hypothesised to be attributable to increased neutrophils count (Nishitani and Sakakibara, 2014).…”

“…Moreover, another experimental investigation conducted to reveal the association between work-related psychological stress responses in Japanese workers (Nishitani and Sakakibara, 2014). This study demonstrated that stress levels were significantly related with the fatigue score and increased WBCs count, which was hypothesised to be attributable to increased neutrophils count (Nishitani and Sakakibara, 2014). The same study also reported a non-significant association between stress and lymphocytes count (Nishitani and Sakakibara, 2014), which is inconsistent with the findings of present study, while another study revealed a consistency with the present study in this regard (Ge et al, 2017).…”

Immunosuppressive effect and global dysregulation of blood transcriptome in response to psychosocial stress in vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus sabaeus)

“…The stress-related decrease of neutrophil ratios in the vervet model of PS suggests that the PS can render the exposed individuals more vulnerable to infections. In contrast to the stress related reduction of the neutrophil ratio during the PS in vervets, the neutrophil counts were positively associated with glucocorticoid levels in various vertebrates 57 and psychosocial stress in humans 50,58 , suggesting that they may respond distinctively per species according to type of stressors and duration of exposure. In summary, our findings evidence that a strong impact of PS on immune functions in vervets.…”

Were you still stressed….while you were sleeping?

“…17 This depression was found to be positively associated with white blood cell count, particularly affecting neutrophils, according to a study conducted in Japan. 18 Similarly, heart rate variability was found to be reduced in anxiety disorders in multiple studies conducted in Brazil and Sweden. 12,13 Certain studies have even linked increase in resting heart rate with an increased risk of developing psychiatric issues ranging from anxiety disorders to even schizophrenia.…”