Trait Hostility and Acute Inflammatory Responses to Stress in the Laboratory

Hostility has been associated with higher basal levels of inflammation. The present study evaluated the association of hostility with acute stress-induced changes in inflammatory activity. One hundred and ninety-nine healthy men and women, aged 19–64 years, were exposed to a stress protocol involving four interpersonal stressors. Participants completed the Cook-Medley Hostility questionnaire and provided two blood samples for the measurement of inflammatory biomarkers (CRP, Il-6, MPO, TNF-α, MCP-1, Il-8, Il-10, and Il-18), prior to and following exposure to a standardized stress protocol. In univariate analyses, hostility was associated with significantly higher TNF-α, but lower Il-8 and Il-18 values post-stress, though only Il-8 remained significant after controlling for baseline differences. In multivariate analyses, a significant Age by Hostility interaction emerged for Il-6, while sex moderated the relation between hostility and Il-10 reactivity. Following stress, hostility was associated with greater pro-inflammatory Il-6 activity among younger individuals and to decreased anti-inflammatory Il-10 activity in women. Future research is needed to replicate these findings and to evaluate their implication for disease.