Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Objective: As the number of refugees continues to rise, there is growing concern about the impact from trauma exposures on their mental health. However, there is a limited understanding of possible biological mechanisms contributing to the substantial inter-individual differences in trauma-related outcomes, especially as it relates to positive mental health. Only sparse work has focused on the biology of positive mental health, including energy and sleep, in trauma-exposed persons. In this study, we analyzed cytokines in blood from newly arrived refugees with differential trauma exposures in relationship to self-reported energy, as a key marker of positive mental health. Methods: Within the first month of arrival in the USA, 64 refugees from Iraq and Syria were interviewed. Refugees completed the clinical DSM-IV PTSD-Checklist Civilian Version (PCL-C), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Ten psychiatrically healthy non-refugee persons were used as healthy controls to compare levels of cytokines. Blood samples were collected at the time of the interview and subsequently analyzed for IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, and TNF-α concentrations. Results: Energy correlated positively with current concentration ability and sleep quality, and negatively with stress, PCL-C, BAI and HADS scores (Spearman correlations, all p<0.05). Refugees had lower levels of IL-10 compared to controls (p<0.05). IL-10 levels in refugees correlated with higher energy levels (p<0.01). Conclusions: Results suggest that self-reported energy is a key component of positive mental health in newly arrived traumatized refugees. Additionally, the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10 could be a marker of, or causally associated with positive mental health. A better understanding of the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory states in highly traumatized individuals has the potential to create more targeted and effective treatments with implications for long-term health outcomes.
Language: English
Topic: Migration, Health and Trauma
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,750
Funders: Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer, Astellas Pharma US, Biogen, Indivior, Neurocrine Biosciences, Astellas Pharma, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, National Institute of Mental Health, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Janssen Pharmaceuticals
Awards: NovaSeq Shared Instrumentation Grant for Wayne State University, Role of Kynurenine Pathway Metabolites in Perinatal Depression and Suicidality, Imagery-Based Trauma-Resiliency Training for Urban Police, Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors (CURES), Prenatal Exposures and Child Health Outcomes 2: Increasing ECHO Urban and Rural Diversity, Inflammatory factors and kynurenine metabolites tracking suicidal behavior, QTL and Microarray Mapping Lead Sensitivity Genes, GLUTAMATE BIOSYNTHESIS MUTANTS AND ALCOHOL SENSITIVITY, Mental health in Iraqi refugees: Importance of post-displacement social stressors, Effects of Lead on Neuronal Differentiation in Human Embryonic Stem Cells
OpenAlex ID: W3213936689