Social stressors, arboviral infection, and immune dysregulation in the coastal lowland region of Ecuador : a mixed methods approach in ecological perspective
Date
02/08/2021Author
Metadata
Show full item recordAltmetrics Handle Statistics
Altmetrics DOI Statistics
Abstract
Aedes aegypti, the mosquito that transmits arboviral diseases such as dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV), and Zika viruses (ZIKV), is present in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Individuals at risk of mosquito-borne disease (MBD) in the urban tropics face daily challenges linked to their socio-environment conditions, such as poor infrastructure, poverty, crowding, and limited access to adequate healthcare. These daily demands induce chronic stress events and dysregulated immune responses. We sought to investigate the role of socio-ecologic risk factors in distress symptoms and their impact on biological responses to MBD in Machala, Ecuador. Between 2017 and 2019, individuals (≥ 18 years) with suspected arbovirus illness (DENV, ZIKV, and CHIKV) from sentinel clinics were enrolled (index cases, N = 28). Cluster investigations of the index case households and people from four houses within a 200-m radius of index home (associate cases, N = 144) were conducted (total N = 172). Hair samples were collected to measure hair cortisol concentration (HCC) as a stress biomarker. Blood samples were collected to measure serum cytokines concentrations of IL-10, IL-8, TNF-α, and TGF-β. Univariate analyses were used to determine the association of socio-health metrics related to perceived stress scores (PSS), HCC, and immune responses. We found that housing conditions influence PSS and HCC levels in individuals at risk of MBD. Inflammatory cytokine distribution was associated with the restorative phase of immune responses in individuals with low-moderate HCC. These data suggest that cortisol may dampen pro-inflammatory responses and influence activation of the restorative phase of immune responses to arboviral infections.
Citation
Vega Ocasio , D , Stewart-Ibarra , A M , Sippy , R , Li , C , McCue , K , Bendinskas , K G , Gump , B B , Cueva-Aponte , C , Ayala , E B , Morrell , C N & Dye , T D 2021 , ' Social stressors, arboviral infection, and immune dysregulation in the coastal lowland region of Ecuador : a mixed methods approach in ecological perspective ' , American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene , vol. 105 , no. 3 , pp. 756-765 . https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-1625
Publication
American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0002-9637Type
Journal article
Rights
Copyright © 2021 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. This work has been made available online in accordance with publisher policies or with permission. Permission for further reuse of this content should be sought from the publisher or the rights holder. This is the final published version of the work, which was originally published at https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-1625.
Description
Funding: At the time this work was completed, Dr. Vega Ocasio was a trainee in the University of Rochester’s Translational Biomedical Science PhD Program, which is supported by Grant 2TL1TR002000-05 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health. Dr. Vega Ocasio was additionally supported by funds from BWF1014095 from the Burroughs Wellcome Fund. The surveillance study was supported by SUNY Upstate Medical University and Clinical Research Management (CRM).Collections
Items in the St Andrews Research Repository are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.