Possible link of Interleukin‐6 and Interleukin‐2 with psychiatric diagnosis, ethnicity, disaster or BMI
Background Cytokines are of increasing interest as markers for stress responses, mental disorders and general health. We assessed associations of two cytokines with several factors among relocated hurricane survivors and controls. Methods We examined 40 relocated hurricane survivors and 40 demographically matched (frequency matching) Oklahoma controls to assess relationships of Interleukin‐2 (IL‐2) and Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) with psychiatric diagnoses (SCID‐IV), demographic variables, hurricane exposure and body mass index (BMI). Participants were predominantly African American (n = 70, 87.5%). Results Relocated Katrina survivors had higher proportions of current PTSD, major depression and psychiatric diagnoses than controls. Unexpectedly, exposure to Katrina with relocation was not by itself associated with differences in IL‐2 or IL‐6 levels. The mean IL‐2 level was significantly higher in African American participants than other ethnicities (8 Caucasians, 2 Asians) and in those with a current psychiatric disorder. The mean IL‐6 level was higher in females than males and in participants with any current psychiatric diagnosis. IL‐6 level also correlated positively with participants’ BMI. Conclusions Results suggest that cytokines studied were influenced non‐specifically by the presence of a mental disorder, and by demographic variables of gender, ethnicity and BMI. Implications of these findings are discussed, as well as possible long‐term impact of the identified interleukin differences on immunologic, inflammatory, neuropsychiatric and other systems. HighlightsWe studied pleiotropic cytokines IL‐2 and IL‐6 in Katrina survivors & controls.Proportion of individuals with PTSD or MDD was higher in Katrina than controls.IL‐2 and IL‐6 linked to psychiatric diagnosis and demographics, but not disaster.IL‐2 was higher in African Americans and with any current psychiatric diagnosis.IL‐6 was higher in females, with higher BMI and any current psychiatric diagnosis.