Association of general fatigue with cellular immune indicators among healthy white-collar employees.
Authors
Nakata-A; Irie-M; Takahashi-M
Source
J Occup Environ Med 2011 Sep; 53(9):1078-1086
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Although fatigue is a common complaint in the working population, underlying immunological mechanisms are not well understood. This study investigated the association of general fatigue with cellular immune indicators. METHODS: A total of 148 healthy white-collar employees (70% men) underwent a blood draw for the measurement of natural killer (NK), B, and T cell counts as well as NK cell cytotoxicity (NKCC) and completed two different fatigue scales, that is, Profile of Mood State (POMS) and Maastricht Questionnaire (MQ). RESULTS: Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that POMS fatigue score was significantly associated with decreases of NK cells (ß = -.407) and NKCC (ß = -.215), whereas MQ fatigue score was significantly associated with reduced NK cells (ß = -.290) but not with NKCC (ß = -.127). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that general fatigue may be related to impaired NK cell competency among healthy employees.
Keywords
Fatigue; Humans; Men; Women; Workers; Worker-motivation; Worker-health; Work-performance; Immune-system; Immune-system-disorders; Immunologic-disorders; Immunology
Contact
Akinori Nakata, PhD, Division of Applied Research Safety and Health, 4676 Columbia Pkwy, Cincinnati, OH 45226
Document Type
Journal Article
Email Address
cji5@cdc.gov
Source Name
Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
