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. 2007 Jul;63(1):65-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2007.03.001.

Effects of anxiety on TNF-alpha levels during psychological stress

S Chandrashekara  1 , K Jayashree, H B Veeranna, H S Vadiraj, M N Ramesh, A Shobha, Y Sarvanan, Yeragani K Vikram
Affiliations

Effects of anxiety on TNF-alpha levels during psychological stress

S Chandrashekara et al. J Psychosom Res. 2007 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: Psychological stress can influence the immune system, which may result in stress-related illnesses. In this study, we investigated the effect of psychological stress and the coping skill on plasma cytokine levels.

Materials and methods: One hundred eighty-three students, at different stages of an academic year, participated in this study. Plasma tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-2 soluble receptor alpha, and IL-4 were measured and examined in relation to the measures of anxiety [State Anxiety Inventory (SAI)] and Bell Adjustment Inventory (BAI) score.

Results: SAI scores were significantly higher in both midterm students (MTS) and examination-taking students (ETS), compared with the freshly admitted students (FAS). In addition, TNF-alpha levels were significantly different between the high- and the low-anxiety groups of ETS but not in MTS or FAS. The correlation between SAI scores and the BAI emotional scores was highest in the ETS group.

Conclusions: TNF-alpha level was significantly lower in the ETS group with high anxiety scores, and it is situation specific.

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