Cumulative trauma, emotion reactivity and salivary cytokine levels following acute stress in healthy women.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To better understand how trauma leads to poor health, this study examined whether cumulative trauma and emotion reactivity contribute to pro- (IL-1β) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10) salivary cytokine levels after stress.

DESIGN: Seventy-three women, screened to be physically and mentally healthy, completed an acute stress paradigm and measures of lifetime trauma exposure.

METHOD: Saliva was collected 10 min before (i.e., baseline) and 35 min after the onset of a 10-min stressor. State negative and positive emotion were measured at baseline and post-stress.

RESULTS: Most participants reported exposure to at least one trauma, with a mean of five. Cumulative trauma was associated with higher post-stress IL-1β and IL-1β/IL-10, but not with IL-10 or changes in emotion. Declines in positive emotion correlated with greater post-stress IL-1β.

CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that both cumulative trauma exposure and positive emotion have implications for salivary cytokine responses to acute stress. The inclusion of healthy women strengthens internal validity, and increases confidence that observed associations between trauma and salivary cytokine responses can be attributed to trauma, rather than to confounding health problems. This study adds to the growing literature examining how trauma may connect to cytokines, and ultimately, poor health.