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Depressive symptoms moderate the influence of hostility on serum interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein

Jesse C Stewart1, Denise Janicki-Deverts, Matthew F Muldoon

  • 1Department of Psychology, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, 402 North Blackford Street, LD 100E, Indianapolis, IN 46202, USA. jstew@iupui.edu

Psychosomatic Medicine
|February 8, 2008
PubMed

Insights

Depression and hostility interact to increase inflammatory markers like IL-6 and CRP in older adults. This suggests hostility may worsen coronary artery disease risk only when depressive symptoms are present.

Area of Science:

  • Psychoneuroimmunology
  • Cardiovascular Disease Research
  • Gerontology

Background:

  • Depressive symptoms and hostility are linked to inflammatory markers relevant to coronary artery disease.
  • Previous research suggests an interaction between these factors, but findings need to be confirmed in older adults.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To examine the cross-sectional associations of depressive symptoms, hostility, and their interaction with serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP).
  • To determine if these associations extend to healthy older adults.

Main Methods:

  • 316 healthy older adults completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II and Cook-Medley Hostility Scale.
  • Serum IL-6 and CRP levels were assessed via blood draw.
  • Regression analyses examined depressive symptoms, hostility, and their interaction as predictors of IL-6 and CRP.

Main Results:

  • Depressive symptoms and hostility showed a significant interaction effect on serum IL-6 and CRP levels after adjusting for covariates.
  • Hostility was positively associated with IL-6 only in individuals with higher depressive symptoms.
  • A similar pattern was observed for CRP, though simple slopes were not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

  • Depressive symptoms moderate the relationship between hostility and inflammation, suggesting hostility may exacerbate inflammatory processes linked to coronary artery disease primarily in the presence of depressive symptoms.
  • These findings extend previous research on the hostility-inflammation link to older adults in the general community.
Abstract

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