This study examines relations between children's salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6) and secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) and mental health. Child sex was considered as a moderator of relations. Data were from 329 normally-developing children (M age = 9.85 years; SD = 0.98 years); 67% of children were European American and 33% were African American. Saliva samples were obtained during the afternoon and assayed for SIgA and IL-6. Parents completed questionnaire measures of child internalizing and externalizing symptoms, and children completed self-report measures of anxiety and depression. Structural equation models were fit to the data, and indicated that greater levels of salivary IL-6 and SIgA were associated with adjustment problems more strongly for girls than for boys.The role of immunology in developmental psychopathology is a critical avenue for research [1], especially given the paucity of studies on children's immune functioning and mental health. The advent of reliable assays of salivary immune parameters opens the door to such research. Developmental psychopathologists rarely collect blood samples from children because of the technical expertise required and the aversiveness of the blood collection procedure for children, but they commonly collect saliva samples (e.g., for cortisol assay). Salivary measures of immune functioning are of interest due to the emerging field of periodontal medicine. This new paradigm proposes that oral health is a window into systemic health [2]. On the other hand, systemic disease can also affect oral health. Among the many important next steps is for research to characterize the correlates and concomitants of salivary markers of immunity and inflammation. The current study addresses this need by examining mental health correlates of secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) and salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6) in a large, ethnically diverse sample of children.© 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Correspondence: Peggy S. Keller, Ph.D.; Department of Psychology; University of Kentucky; Lexington, KY 40506; Tel: 859-257-9806; Fax: 859-323-1979; peggy.keller@uky.edu. Note: In the interest of full disclosure, Dr. Granger is the founder and Chief Scientific and Strategy Advisor of Salimetrics LLC (State College, PA).Publisher's Disclaimer: This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final citable form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
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Behavior, Stress, Oral Immunity and InflammationContemporary theorists champion the relevance of links between the brain, behavior, and immunity in relation to child health and adjustment [8]. Healthy adults show decreases in SIgA when recollecting depressing li...