117. Self-rated health in response to experimental manipulations of inflammation is mediated by sickness behavior as assessed by the sickness questionnaire

Abstract

Factors that influence subjective health ratings (e.g. pain, tiredness, lack of energy) resemble immune activated sickness behavior. Accordingly, previous research has shown a relation between inflammatory cytokines and poor self-rated health. However, neither the causality of the association, nor what mediates it, is clear. In this study we investigated if a transient immune activation would affect subjective health perception and, if so, if this effect is mediated by symptoms of sickness behavior. Using a between-subject design, 51 healthy subjects were injected with either endotoxin (LPS 0.6 ng/kg) or placebo. Stimulation resulted in a peak response in pro-inflammatory cytokines after 90–120 min. Ninety minutes after injection, both perceived health framed to represent current (“How is your health right now?”) and global health (“How would you rate your general state of health”?) was significantly lower in the endotoxin condition ( p ’s < .01). The effect of endotoxin on self-rated health was mediated by sickness behavior as assessed by a newly developed questionnaire, Sickness Questionnaire, to 91% for current and 68 % for global health. In conclusion, it is demonstrated that a transient inflammatory activation, likely working through symptoms of sickness behavior, affects both subjectively perceived health for the moment as well as how health status on the more general level is appraised.