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Principal Investigator: Dakota Danielle Witzel
Organization: SOUTH DAKOTA STATE UNIVERSITY
Fiscal Year: 2024
Award: $148,500
Funding agency: National Institute on Aging
Project Summary/Abstract
Prolonged, elevated inflammation is detrimental to health, with ties to disease and mortality, making prolonged,
elevated inflammation an economic burden and public health issue. Daily stressors and affective reactions to
daily stressors may be mechanisms that increase risk for prolonged inflammation and downstream health
outcomes. Possible pathways through which daily stressors are linked to inflammation remain poorly
understood, particularly in older adulthood– when risk for prolonged inflammation is already elevated. Although
research identifies daily stress processes (i.e., exposure, severity, affective reactions) as important factors by
which stress can affect health, few studies examine how these aspects of daily stress inform inflammation.
Those that have examined such associations have focused on middle-aged adults and two indicators of
inflammation (C-reactive protein [CRP], interleukin-6 [IL-6]). Recent research also identifies daily stress
processes as modifiable targets for addressing gender disparities in health outcomes. The goal of this research
is to identify which aspects of daily stress processes – frequency, severity, and affective reactions to daily
stressors – are linked with heightened inflammatory biomarkers in older adults, and the extent to which these
associations vary between men and women. The proposed research will use data from a recent wave of the
Einstein Aging Study (EAS; N=289). A racially diverse sample of older adults (70+ years) participated in a 14-
day ecological momentary assessment (EMA) study, with two blood draws pre- and post- EMA period. In
addition to eight pro- and anti-inflammatory biomarkers assayed for both basal and stimulated cytokines, the
current proposed research will assay one additional cytokine (macrophage migration inhibitory factor [MIF]),
theorized to be highly related to psychosocial stress. Aim one will identify how the frequency and severity of
daily stressors relate to inflammatory biomarkers. Aim two will determine how both initial (same-day) and
prolonged (next-day) affective reactions relate to associations between frequency and severity of daily
stressors and inflammatory biomarkers. Aim three will examine gender/sex as a moderator of the associations
tested in aims one and two. Current interventions for managing or decreasing prolonged inflammation suggest
viable pathways such as medication, or changes in diet and exercise, but not stressors. Findings from this
study will provide critical information on what aspects of daily stress processes may be utilized as modifiable
psychosocial intervention targets for managing and decreasing prolonged inflammation, and for whom these
interventions should be different. In addition, understanding how prolonged affective reactions are linked to
inflammation can inform how researchers design intensive repeated measurement studies. The proposed
hypotheses will be tested with multilevel structural equation modeling. Dr. Witzel and co-investigators, Drs.
Jennifer Graham-Engeland and Christopher Engeland, are uniquely positioned to carry out the proposed
research given their joint expertise in daily stress processes, affect, and inflammation among older adults.
Terms: <(TNF)-α><21+ years old><3-10C><65 and older><65 or older><65 years of age and older><65 years of age or more><65 years of age or older><65+ years><65+ years old><> 65 years><AMCF-I><Address><Adult><Adult Human><Affect><Affective><Age><Aged 65 and Over><Aging><Anti-Inflammatories><Anti-Inflammatory Agents><Anti-inflammatory><Assay><B cell differentiation factor><B cell growth factor><B cell stimulating factor 2><B-Cell Differentiation Factor><B-Cell Differentiation Factor-1><B-Cell Differentiation Factor-2><B-Cell Growth Factor-1><B-Cell Growth Factor-I><B-Cell Proliferating Factor><B-Cell Stimulating Factor><B-Cell Stimulating Factor-1><B-Cell Stimulation Factor-1><B-Cell Stimulatory Factor-1><B-Cell Stimulatory Factor-2><BCDF><BCDF-1><BCGF><BCGF-1><BCSF 1><BSF-1><BSF-2><BSF1><BSF2><Beta Proprotein Interleukin 1><Binetrakin><Bioassay><Biological Assay><Biological Markers><Black><Black race><Blood><Blood Reticuloendothelial System><C-reactive protein><COVID crisis><COVID epidemic><COVID pandemic><COVID-19 crisis><COVID-19 epidemic><COVID-19 era><COVID-19 global health crisis><COVID-19 global pandemic><COVID-19 health crisis><COVID-19 pandemic><COVID-19 period><COVID-19 public health crisis><COVID-19 years><CSIF><CSIF-10><CXCL8><Cachectin><Complex><Cytokine Synthesis Inhibitory Factor><Data><Differences between sexes><Differs between sexes><Disease><Disorder><Drugs><Ecological momentary assessment><Economic Burden><Equation><Frequencies><Future><GCP1><Gender><Goals><HPGF><Health><Hepatocyte-Stimulating Factor><Hybridoma Growth Factor><IFN-beta 2><IFNB2><IL-1 beta><IL-1 β><IL-1-b><IL-10><IL-1β><IL-4><IL-6><IL-8><IL1-Beta><IL1-β><IL10><IL10A><IL1B Protein><IL1F2><IL1β><IL4 Protein><IL6 Protein><IL8><IL8 gene><Immune response><Immunological response><Inflammation><Inflammatory><Inflammatory Response><Interleukin 10 Precursor><Interleukin 1beta><Interleukin-1 beta><Interleukin-10><Interleukin-1β><Interleukin-4><Interleukin-4 Precursor><Interleukin-6><Intervention><Intervention Strategies><Investigators><Joints><K60><Knowledge><Link><Literature><Lymphocyte Stimulatory Factor 1><MCGF-2><MGI-2><Macrophage Migration Inhibition Factors><Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor><Macrophage-Derived TNF><Mast Cell Growth Factor-2><Measurement><Medication><Methodology><Migration Inhibition Factor><Migration Inhibitory Factor><Mitogens><Modeling><Monocyte-Derived TNF><Myeloid Differentiation-Inducing Protein><Older Population><Outcome><Pathway interactions><Persons><Pharmaceutical Preparations><Physiologic><Physiological><Plasmacytoma Growth Factor><Position><Positioning Attribute><Preinterleukin 1 Beta><Process><Proteins, specific or class, C-reactive><Psychosocial Stress><Public Health><Race><Races><Reaction><Reporting><Research><Research Design><Research Personnel><Researchers><Risk><Risk Factors><SARS-CoV-2 epidemic><SARS-CoV-2 global health crisis><SARS-CoV-2 global pandemic><SARS-CoV-2 pandemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 epidemic><SARS-coronavirus-2 pandemic><SCYB8><Sampling><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 epidemic><Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoV 2 pandemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 epidemic><Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic><Severities><Sex Differences><Sexual differences><Stress><Study Type><T-Cell Growth Factor 2><TNF><TNF A><TNF Alpha><TNF gene><TNF-α><TNFA><TNFα><TSG-1><Testing><Tumor Necrosis Factor><Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha><Woman><Work><above age 65><adulthood><after age 65><age 65 and greater><age 65 and older><age 65 or older><age > 65><age of 65 years onward><aged 65 and greater><aged 65+><aged ≥65><ages><arylpyruvate keto-enol tautomerase><b-ENAP><bio-markers><biologic marker><biological adaptation to stress><biomarker><coronavirus disease 2019 crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 epidemic><coronavirus disease 2019 global health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 global pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 health crisis><coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic><coronavirus disease 2019 public health crisis><coronavirus disease crisis><coronavirus disease epidemic><coronavirus disease pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 global pandemic><coronavirus disease-19 pandemic><cytokine><design><designing><diet and exercise><disparity in health><drug/agent><experience><gender disparity><health disparity><high risk><host response><human old age (65+)><immune system response><immunoresponse><improved><inflammation marker><inflammatory marker><innovate><innovation><innovative><interferon beta 2><interventional strategy><malleable risk><men><mid life><mid-life><middle age><middle aged><midlife><modifiable risk><mortality><negative affect><negative affectivity><novel><old age><older adult><older adulthood><older groups><older individuals><older men><older person><older women><over 65 years><p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate tautomerase><parent award><parent project><pathway><phenylpyruvate tautomerase><programs><psychosocial><racial><racial background><racial diversity><racial origin><racially diverse><reaction; crisis><response><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global health crisis><severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 global pandemic><sex><sex based differences><sex-dependent differences><sex-related differences><sex-specific differences><socio-economic><socio-economically><socioeconomically><socioeconomics><stress response><stress; reaction><stressor><study design><systemic inflammation><systemic inflammatory response><theories><≥65 years>