Negative and positive affect as predictors of inflammation: Timing matters
Open accessAbstract
Very little research has assessed how measures of negative and positive affect (NA and PA) derived from assessments at multiple time points per day (e.g., via ecological momentary assessment [EMA]), as opposed to questionnaires that rely on recall over a longer period, are related to levels of peripheral inflammation. We examined how different indicators of NA and PA predicted concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) and seven peripheral inflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-8, IL-4, IL-10, and IFN-γ) that were examined in the form of an inflammatory composite. A community-based sample of 220 adults (62% Black/African-American and 25% Hispanic/Latino; aged 25-65; 65% female) completed questionnaires at baseline (including recalled affect "over the past month") and then provided EMA reports 5x/day for 14 days. Blood was drawn from each participant after completion of EMA and used to determine plasma levels of CRP and cytokines. Analyses examined if indicators of affect predicted inflammation, controlling for age, gender, body mass index, education, health conditions, and statin use. Neither recalled NA or PA nor momentary NA or PA (aggregated across the 14 days of EMA) were significantly associated with the cytokine composite or CRP. Negative mood more proximal to the blood draw (i.e., aggregated momentary NA in week 2 of EMA) was associated with the cytokine composite but not CRP. Exploratory moderation analyses revealed that the cytokine composite was also associated with PA in week 2 for men only, and with recalled NA for those with lower education. Exploratory analyses around temporal dynamics suggested that the timing of NA measurement relative to the blood draw mattered: Specifically, there were stronger trends of association between momentary NA and inflammatory cytokines when NA was assessed closer in time to blood collection. Future investigation of the relevance of temporal proximity and other measurement details may improve understanding of how affect relates to inflammation.
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Anxiety and depressive symptoms are each associated with a host of negative health outcomes, including disordered eating and worsened health status.
“Anxiety and depressive symptoms are also each associated with a host of negative health outcomes (Niles & O’Donovan, 2019), including disordered eating (Singh, 2014) and worsened health status (e.g., Graham-Engeland et al., 2018).”
From Effects of a Mindfulness-Based Weight Loss Intervention on Long-term Psychological Well-being Among Adults with Obesity: Secondary Analyses from the Supporting Health by Integrating Nutrition and Exercise (SHINE) Trial (2022) · cites this paper as Graham-Engeland et al., 2018
The Results (‘Momentary affect by week with inflammation’; page unavailable) report that greater week-2 negative affect was associated with higher cytokine levels. The Introduction describes chronic inflammation as a risk factor for disease, frailty, and mortality. This offers an indirect link to poorer health, but the paper does not establish worsened health status as an outcome associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms separately. (LLM, conf=0.81)
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- Authors
- Graham-Engeland, J. E., Sin, N. L., Smyth, J. M., Jones, D. R., Knight, E. L., Sliwinski, M. J., Almeida, D. M., Katz, M. J., Lipton, R. B., & Engeland, C. G.
- Affiliations
- Pennsylvania State University (US)
- Albert Einstein College of Medicine (US)
- ORCID
- Venue
- Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-11
- Volume
- 74
- Pages
- 222-230
- ISSN
- 0889-1591 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6289783
- OpenAlex
- W2891246814
- Cited by
- 77
- References
- 64
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 13 · 2022: 13 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 1.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Brain Behavior and Immunity (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- NIH (R01 AG039409, R01 AG042595, P01-AG0394, F32AG048698)
- The Pennsylvania State University (NIA T32AG049676)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Biological Psychiatry › Tryptophan and brain disorders
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Mental Health Research Topics
- Keywords
- negative affect, positive affect, inflammation, C-reactive protein, inflammatory cytokines, ecological momentary assessment, temporal dynamics, momentary affect, recall bias, sex differences
- MeSH terms
- Ecological Momentary Assessment, Adult, Affect, Aged, C-Reactive Protein, Female, Forecasting, Humans, Inflammation, Male, Middle Aged, Mental Recall, Cytokines
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