Immune dysregulation among students exposed to exam stress and its mitigation by mindfulness training: findings from an exploratory randomised trial

Abstract

Psychological distress persisting for weeks or more promotes pro-inflammatory immune dysregulation, a risk factor for a range of chronic diseases. We have recently shown that mindfulness training reduces distress among university students. Here we present an exploratory trial to study immune dysregulation in a cohort of students who were exposed to progressively greater stress as the exam period approached, and to explore whether mindfulness training mitigated this dysregulation. Healthy University of Cambridge students were randomised to join an 8-week mindfulness course (N = 27), or to mental health support as usual (N = 27). Psychological distress, immune cell proportions, cytokines, cRp and serum cortisol were measured at baseline and during the exam period. increased distress was associated with statistically significant increases in the proportion of B cells, regardless of trial arm (*p = 0.027). There were no other associations between any of the measured parameters, distress or mindfulness. Our finding that the proportion of B cells increases with psychological distress supports the findings of other studies. However, we found no evidence that mindfulness training is able to buffer the effects of psychological distress on healthy participants' immune system. In order to detect these effects, should they exist, larger randomised trials will be required. The human mind, brain and immune systems have much in common. They are complex, self-organising economies that recognise self from non-self, interact with the environment and possess ability to store information. The immune system alone is a highly distributed network of effectors, regulators and signals, which depend on dynamic balances to determine the best configuration for each environmental challenge. Prolonged systemic inflammation leads to increased risk of chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, dementia and depression 1 , the most important global causes of morbidity and mortality. Thus, interventions that restore or maintain normal immune function in healthy and at risk populations are useful in preventing a range of mental and physical disorders 2,3. Even small improvements at a population level could lead to large reductions in morbidity and mortality 4. The immune, endocrine and nervous systems are known to interact with one another to provide a coordinated response to external stimuli, whether it be a physical insult such as wounding or an emotional stressor such as perceived stress (reviewed in Glaser et al.) 5. Acute stress promotes a pro-inflammatory state along with the "fight

Mindfulness y educación física en la población universitaria. Una revisión sistemática (Mindfulness and physical education in University population. A systematic review)

“…En estos, se observó una relación entre el dominio del mindfulness y una frecuencia cardíaca basal elevada, lo cual puede ser un factor de riesgo coronario (Brzozowski, et al, 2018). Al mismo tiempo, mientras que no se pudo asociar el mindfulness a parámetros inmunológicos, el aumento de la angustia sí que apareció asociado a una desregulación inmunológica con procesos proinflamatorios (Turner, et al, 2020). Respecto al uso específico de los programas, se demuestra que las intervenciones basadas en mindfulness (MBI) optimizan dominios de ansiedad, depresión y estrés (Cavanagah, et al, 2018;Wimmer, et al, 2020); la autoayuda basada en mindfulness (MBSH) y el programa de entrenamiento en mindfulness (MTP) reducen significativamente el estrés (Gu, et al, 2018;Moore, et al, 2020); la terapia cognitiva basada en atención plena (MBCT) mejora las creencias sobre emociones, autocompasión, perfeccionismo y descentramiento (James & Rimes, 2018); y por último, la reducción del estrés a través del mindfulness (MBSR) conlleva un progreso en términos de disminución de reactividad, aumento de curiosidad, tolerancia afectiva, paciencia, autoaceptación, y cualidades relacionales (Solhaug, et al, 2016).…”

“…En este sentido, se han encontrado artículos que analizan los efectos a nivel psicológico y emocional (estrés, ansiedad, depresión, resolución de conflictos, resiliencia, bienestar, motivación), a nivel de rendimiento académico y dos estudios a nivel fisiológico (inmunología y parámetros cardiovasculares). A nivel general se han encontrado resultados positivos en todos los estudios a excepción de dos que no pudieron concluir mejorías significativas asociadas al entrenamiento en atención plena (Turner, et al, 2020;Wimmer, Bellingrath & Von Stockhausen;.…”

“…Esta varianza entre el número de sujetos es debida principalmente a los diseños de estudio. Mientras que procedimientos arduos como toma de muestras sanguíneas (Turner, et al, 2020) dificultan el reclutamiento de participantes, las autointervenciones con vídeos o similares a distancia o los procedimientos mixtos (presencial y a distancia) facilitan el proceso de investigación y la adherencia (Solhaug, et al, 2016;Wimmer, et al, 2020). Además de lo anterior, las características de los participantes en términos de cultura, rama de estudios y otros, podrían influir en los resultados de las investigaciones (Stevenson, Millings & Emerson, 2019).…”

Viral Respiratory Infections: An Ounce of Prevention Is Worth a Pound of Cure

“…Persisting psychological stress has been linked with promoting proinflammatory immune dysregulation. 35 In a meta-analysis conducted by Segerstrom and Miller 36 exploring the association between psychological stress and immune function, brief stressors seemed to suppress cell-mediated immune response while preserving humoral immune response. Chronic stress was associated with suppression of both above immunities.…”

The Indefatigable Worker: From Factory Floor to Zoom Avatar

“…In 2015, Nature published an article arguing that the underlying neural mechanisms and the molecular bases of the changes in the brain that accompany mindfulness training remain unclear (Tang et al, 2015: 213). Other researchers reported that they found no evidence that mindfulness training has any effect on participants' immune systems (Turner et al, 2020). More bad news has been emerging to cast a shadow on the dream cure as large-scale experiments and meta-analyses have found that mindfulness could in fact negatively affect task motivation due to the inherent tension between encouraging the workers' acceptance of their present experience and the motivation necessary for taking initiatives and achieving something new (Hafenbrack and Vohs, 2018).…”