Interactions Between Caregiving and Sex and the Antibody Response to COVID-19 Vaccination.
Psychosom Med
; 86(7): 633-639, 2024 Sep 01.
Article
en En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38787544
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:
Antibody response to vaccination is a powerful paradigm for studying the effects of chronic stress on immune function. In the present study, we used this paradigm to examine the interaction between caregiving (as a type of chronic stress) and sex on the antibody response to a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccination; recent research has called for examination of sex differences on health outcomes among family caregivers. A three-way interaction between caregiving, sex, and psychological distress was also examined.METHODS:
COVID-19 antibody data were extracted from 165 caregivers (98 females) and 386 non-caregivers (244 females) from the UK's Understanding Society COVID-19 study. Relevant sociodemographics, health and lifestyle, and distress variables were gathered as potential covariates.RESULTS:
In a 2 × 2 ANOVA, we found that the interaction between caregiving and sex was significant; male caregivers had a lower antibody response to the vaccine compared to female caregivers ( F (1,547), =24.82, p < .001, η2p = 0.043). Following adjustment, male caregivers had the lowest antibody response relative to all other groups. The three-way interaction model, controlling for covariates, was also significant ( R2 = 0.013, p = .049); the conditional effects for the three-way interaction revealed that male caregivers, compared to the other groups, had a lower antibody response at both low and medium levels of psychological distress.CONCLUSION:
This study found evidence of a three-way interaction between caregiving, sex, and distress on antibody response. Male caregivers had poorer antibody response to a single shot of the COVID-19 vaccination than female caregivers and male and female non-caregivers, and this was evident at low and medium levels of distress. Our findings will be discussed in relation to the caregiver and sex interactions during the pandemic.
Texto completo:
1
Colección:
01-internacional
Base de datos:
MEDLINE
Asunto principal:
Cuidadores
/
Vacunas contra la COVID-19
/
COVID-19
/
Anticuerpos Antivirales
/
Formación de Anticuerpos
Límite:
Adult
/
Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Psychosom Med
Año:
2024
Tipo del documento:
Article
País de afiliación:
Reino Unido
Pais de publicación:
Estados Unidos