Background
Results
Participants
Participant | Group | Age (yrs) | Ethnicity | Alcohol intake/week (standard drinks) | Liver disease | Average pain (0–10 NRS) | HADS Anxiety score | HADS Depression score | Fatigue mean ± .d. | WBC K/μL
| Platelets K/μL
| CRP mg/dL
| ESR mm/hr
| ANAS | TSH mIU/L | RHF |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | HV | 47 | Caucasian | 9 | neg. | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 ± 0 | 6.3 | 242 | <0.2 | 0 | neg. | 1.11 | neg. |
2 | HV | 50 | Asian | 1 | neg. | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 ± 0 | 4.7 | 219 | <0.2 | 1 | neg. | 1.24 | neg. |
3 | HV | 42 | Caucasian | 15 | neg. | 1 | 1 | 3 | 17 ± 6 | 5.1 | 218 | <0.2 | 0 | neg. | 0.86 | neg. |
4 | HV | 41 | Caucasian | 6 | neg. | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 ± 0 | 7.3 | 212 | <0.2 | 4 | neg. | 1.04 | neg. |
5 | HV | 57 | Caucasian | 0 | neg. | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 ± 3 | 6.3 | 239 | 0.8 | 30 | neg. | 0.96 | neg. |
6 | HV | 54 | Caucasian | 1 | neg. | 3 | 14 | 11 | 65 ± 25 | 7.0 | 234 | <0.2 | 5 | neg. | 1.83 | neg. |
7 | HV | 44 | Caucasian | 1 | neg. | 2 | 5 | 4 | 0 ± 0 | 9.4 | 189 | 0.5 | 5 | neg. | 2.42 | neg. |
8 | HV | 48 | Latino | 0 | neg. | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 ± 16 | 7.9 | 332 | 0.6 | 2 | neg. | 0.96 | neg. |
9 | GWI | 41 | Caucasian | 42*
| neg. | 6 | 8 | 7 | 50 ± 14 | 10.1 | 262 | 0.2 | 1 | 1:80 | 1.27 | neg. |
10 | GWI | 42 | Caucasian | 1 | neg. | 2 | 11 | 10 | 25 ± 15 | 6.6 | 212 | <0.2 | 2 | neg. | 1.98 | neg. |
11 | GWI | 44 | Pacific Islander | 1*
| neg. | 2 | 6 | 7 | 65 ± 12 | 12.3 | 284 | 1.0 | 1 | neg. | 2.22 | neg. |
12 | GWI | 48 | Caucasian | 0 | neg. | 5 | 8 | 3 | 37 ± 15 | 7.4 | 256 | <0.2 | 2 | neg. | 1.49 | neg. |
13 | GWI | 48 | Asian | 0 | neg. | 2 | 11 | 6 | 11 ± 11 | 4.4 | 188 | <0.2 | 9 | neg. | 1.90 | neg. |
14 | GWI | 47 | Caucasian | 7 | neg. | 2 | 5 | 1 | 21 ± 16 | 5.8 | 191 | <0.2 | 2 | neg. | 1.08 | neg. |
15 | GWI | 43 | Caucasian | 6 | neg. | 3 | 9 | 4 | 24 ± 19 | 5.3 | 278 | <0.2 | 2 | neg. | 0.63 | neg. |
Main results
Immune biomarker | GWI | HV | CV: GWI vs. HV t-test results | GWI vs. HV GEE results | GWI fatigue-cytokine LMM results | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conc. mean (sd) | CV mean (sd) | Conc. mean (sd) | CV mean (sd) | ||||
BDNF | 23.36 (8.84) | 29.78 (22.28) | 23.97 (6.79) | 16.86 (6.24) | t(13) = −1.578, p = 0.138 |
χ
2 = 0.068, p = 0.794 | F = 0.911, p = 0.341 |
Eotaxin-1 | 168.94 (66.21) | 23.89 (3.99) | 227.17 (129.9) | 15.27 (1.78) |
t(11) = −5.173,
p ≤ 0.001
|
χ
2 = 3.221, p = 0.073 | F = 3.467, p = 0.065 |
Factor VII | 391.89 (124.38) | 9.71 (4.75) | 407.54 (54.29) | 7.74 (1.63) | t(13) = −1.104, p = 0.290 |
χ
2 = 0.180, p = 0.671 | F = 0.849, p = 0.358 |
ICAM-1 | 118.89 (32.35) | 10.6 (3.58) | 125.21 (34.4) | 9.59 (2.52) | t(13) = −0.639, p = 0.534 |
χ
2 = 0.429, p = 0.512 | F = 0.035, p = 0.852 |
IL-1β | 4.49 (0.7) | 15.61 (3.24) | 3.84 (0.39) | 10.49 (3.09) | t(12) = −3.011, p = 0.011 |
χ
2 = 5.204, p = 0.023 |
F = 7.238,
p
= 0.008
|
IL-1Ra | 579.28 (184.39) | 25.68 (7.62) | 636.16 (106.9) | 21.87 (3.75) | t(13) = −1.257, p = 0.231 |
χ
2 = 0.161, p = 0.688 | F = 2.140, p = 0.145 |
IL-8 | 7.06 (1.42) | 27.42 (15.1) | 7.54 (3.88) | 28.21 (13.9) | t(13) = 0.106, p = 0.917 |
χ
2 = 0.483, p = 0.487 | F = 5.046, p = 0.026 |
IL-10 | 6.09 (0.57) | 17.23 (8.15) | 5.69 (0.26) | 16.07 (7.39) | t(8) = −0.235, p = 0.820 |
χ
2 = 2.890, p = 0.089 | F = 0.837, p = 0.364 |
IL-12p40 | 0.39 (0.1) | 19.03 (2.34) | 0.46 (0.07) | 15.98 (3.1) | t(13) = −2.126, p = 0.053 |
χ
2 = 1.845, p = 0.174 | F = 3.418, p = 0.066 |
IL-15 | 0.76 (0.1) | 15.6 (2.77) | 0.73 (0.1) | 14.49 (3.5) | t(11) = −0.600, p = 0.561 |
χ
2 = 1.366, p = 0.242 |
F = 21.951,
p ≤ 0.001
|
IL-17 | 4.02 (0.27) | 21.34 (12.13) | 3.78 (0.19) | 5.51 (9.55) | t(4) = −1.776, p = 0.150 |
χ
2 = 2.379, p = 0.123 | F = 0.391, p = 0.536 |
IL-18 | 287.44 (83.16) | 12.79 (3.72) | 243.66 (102.56) | 10.38 (3.8) | t(13) = −1.236, p = 0.238 |
χ
2 = 0.670, p = 0.413 | F = 0.973, p = 0.325 |
IL-23 | 1.93 (0.11) | 13.58 (3.76) | 1.9 (0.13) | 9.29 (2.84) | t(10) = −2.259, p = 0.047 |
χ
2 = 1.280, p = 0.258 | F = 1.320, p = 0.255 |
MIP-1α | 35.24 (2.24) | 7.26 (3.96) | 38.87 (6.28) | 7.94 (4.18) | t(6) = 0.237, p = 0.821 |
χ
2 = 0.243, p = 0.622 | F = 0.367, p = 0.547 |
MIP-1β | 246.95 (82.29) | 21.41 (7.05) | 342.66 (125.03) | 13.58 (4.42) | t(13) = −2.536, p = 0.030 |
χ
2 = 3.121, p = 0.077 | F = 4.451, p = 0.036 |
MMP-3 | 12.32 (5.2) | 18.25 (7.12) | 14.91 (5.81) | 17.19 (8.39) | t(13) = −0.262, p = 0.797 |
χ
2 = 0.745, p = 0.388 | F = 1.140, p = 0.287 |
MMP-9 | 58.31 (15.98) | 21.9 (8) | 65.44 (28.67) | 18.87 (3.42) | t(13) = −0.977, p = 0.346 |
χ
2 = 0.428, p = 0.513 | F = 0.865, p = 0.354 |
MCP-1 | 295.95 (173.89) | 21.75 (7.38) | 419.04 (167.77) | 18.07 (8.38) | t(13) = −0.897, p = 0.386 |
χ
2 = 2.704, p = 0.100 | F = 1.142, p = 0.287 |
SCF | 400.74 (98.01) | 16.05 (3.18) | 496.78 (80.29) | 13.31 (2.31) | t(13) = −1.925, p = 0.076 |
χ
2 = 4.302, p = 0.038 | F = 2.560, p = 0.111 |
VEGF | 161.42 (82.29) | 19.92 (9.36) | 190.26 (86.36) | 13.64 (4.62) | t(13) = −1.684, p = 0.116 |
χ
2 = 1.079, p = 0.299 | F = 4.370, p = 0.038 |
Leptin | 13.51 (6.25) | 18.09 (4.4) | 12.59 (10.22) | 15.68 (3.47) | t(13) = −1.182, p = 0.258 |
χ
2 = 0.003, p = 0.958 | F = 0.405, p = 0.525 |