Life satisfaction and happiness in patients shielding from the COVID-19 global pandemic:A randomised controlled study of the 'mood as information' theory

ObjectivesTo extrapolate the 'mood as information' theory to the unique and ecologically relevant setting of the COVID-19 pandemic; the specific aim was to inform health care providers of the impact of bringing the pandemic to salience during life satisfaction evaluations, assessing whether this 'prime' results in increased or decreased reports of satisfaction which are derived unconsciously.DesignProspective Randomised Interventional Study.SettingRenal Transplant Department in a tertiary centre in the United Kingdom.Participants200 Renal transplant patients aged between 20 and 88 years. Telephone interviews were undertaken between 1st May, 2020 and 29th May, 2020, at the height of 'shielding' from COVID-19.InterventionsParticipants were randomised into 2 groups, with 1 group receiving a simple 'priming question' regarding the COVID pandemic and the other group having no prior contact.Main outcome measurementsIndividuals were then asked to rate their own overall lifetime happiness; desire to change; overall life satisfaction and momentary happiness on a scale of 1 to 10 for each measure. Independent sample t-tests were used to compare results between the two groups, with a type 1 error rate below 5% considered statistically significant.ResultsParticipants' overall happiness with their life as a whole revealed that individuals who were primed with a question about COVID-19 reported increased overall happiness with their life compared to individuals who had not been primed (+0.88, 95% confidence interval 0.42 to 1.35, p = 0.0002). In addition, participants in the primed group reported less desire to change their life when compared to the non-primed group (-1.35, 95% confidence interval -2.06 to -0.65, p = 0.0002). Participants who were primed with the COVID-19 question also reported a higher overall satisfaction with their life than individuals who had not been primed (+1.01, 95% confidence interval 0.50 to 1.52, p = 0.0001). Finally, the participants who received the priming question demonstrated increased reported momentary happiness (+0.64, 95% confidence interval 0.03 to 1.24, p = 0.04).ConclusionsThe results demonstrated that bringing salience to the COVID-19 pandemic with a simple question leads to positive changes in both momentary happiness and other components of global life satisfaction, thereby extrapolating evidence for the application of the mood-as-information theory to more extreme life circumstances. Given the importance of patient-reported evaluations, these findings have implications for how, when and where accurate and reproducible measurements of life satisfaction should be obtained

Can a Funny Chatbot Make a Difference? Infusing Humor into Conversational Agent for Behavioral Intervention

Regular physical activity is crucial for reducing the risk of non-communicable disease (NCD). With NCDs on the rise globally, there is an urgent need for effective health interventions, with chatbots emerging as a viable and cost-effective option because of limited healthcare accessibility. Although health professionals often utilize behavior change techniques (BCTs) to boost physical activity levels and enhance client engagement and motivation by affiliative humor, the efficacy of humor in chatbot-delivered interventions is not well-understood. This study conducted a randomized controlled trial to examine the impact of the generative humorous communication style in a 10-day chatbot-delivered intervention for physical activity. It further investigated if user engagement and motivation act as mediators between the communication style and changes in physical activity levels. 66 participants engaged with the chatbots across three groups (humorous, non-humorous, and no-intervention) and responded to daily ecological momentary assessment questionnaires assessing engagement, motivation, and physical activity levels. Multilevel time series analyses revealed that an affiliative humorous communication style positively impacted physical activity levels over time, with user engagement acting as a mediator in this relationship, whereas motivation did not. These findings clarify the role of humorous communication style in chatbot-delivered physical activity interventions, offering valuable insights for future development of intelligent conversational agents incorporating humor

Stressful life events are associated with low secretion rates of immunoglobulin A in saliva in the middle aged and elderly

Whether chronic stress experience is related to down-regulation of secretory immunoglobulin A (S-IgA) was tested in two substantial cohorts, one middle-aged (N = 640) and one elderly (N = 582), comprising similar numbers of men (N = 556) and women (N = 666) and manual (N = 606) and non-manual (N = 602) workers. Participants indicated from a list of major stressful life events up to six they had experienced in the previous two years. They also rated how disruptive and stressful the events were, at the time and now, as well as their perceived seriousness; the products of these impact values and event frequency were adopted as measures of stress load. From unstimulated 2-minute saliva samples, saliva volume and S-IgA concentration were measured, and S-IgA secretion rate determined as their product. There was a negative association between the stress load measures and S-IgA secretion rate, still evident following adjustment for such variables as smoking and saliva volume. The associations also withstood adjustment for sex, cohort, and household occupational status. Although these associations are small in terms of the amount of variance explained, they nonetheless suggest that chronic stress experience either decreases IgA production by the local plasma cells or reduces the efficiency with which S-IgA is transported from the glandular interstitium into saliva. Given the importance of S-IgA in immune defence at mucosal surfaces and the frequency with which infections are initiated at these surfaces, S-IgA down-regulation could be a means by which chronic stress increases susceptibility to upper respiratory tract infection

A randomized controlled trial to test the effect of multispecies probiotics on cognitive reactivity to sad mood

AbstractBackground: Recent insights into the role of the human microbiota in cognitive and affective functioning have led to the hypothesis that probiotic supplementation may act as an adjuvant strategy to ameliorate or prevent depression. Objective: Heightened cognitive reactivity to normal, transient changes in sad mood is an established marker of vulnerability to depression and is considered an important target for interventions. The present study aimed to test if a multispecies probiotic containing Bifidobacterium bifidum W23, Bifidobacterium lactis W52, Lactobacillus acidophilus W37, Lactobacillus brevis W63, Lactobacillus casei W56, Lactobacillus salivarius W24, and Lactococcus lactis (W19 and W58) may reduce cognitive reactivity in non-depressed individuals. Design: In a triple-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, pre- and post-intervention assessment design, 20 healthy participants without current mood disorder received a 4-week probiotic food-supplement intervention with the multispecies probiotics, while 20 control participants received an inert placebo for the same period. In the pre- and post-intervention assessment, cognitive reactivity to sad mood was assessed using the revised Leiden index of depression sensitivity scale. Results: Compared to participants who received the placebo intervention, participants who received the 4-week multispecies probiotics intervention showed a significantly reduced overall cognitive reactivity to sad mood, which was largely accounted for by reduced rumination and aggressive thoughts. Conclusion: These results provide the first evidence that the intake of probiotics may help reduce negative thoughts associated with sad mood. Probiotics supplementation warrants further research as a potential preventive strategy for depression

Norepinephrine Transporter Blocker Atomoxetine Increases Salivary Alpha Amylase

It has been suggested that central norepinephrine (NE) activity may be inferred from increases in salivary alpha-amylase (SAA), but data in favor of this proposition are limited. We administered 40 mg of atomoxetine, a selective NE transporter blocker that increases central NE levels, to 24 healthy adult participants in a double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over design. Atomoxetine administration significantly increased SAA secretion and concentrations at 75–180 min after treatment (more than doubling baseline levels). Consistent with evidence that elevation in central NE is a co-determinant of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity, salivary cortisol also approximately doubled at the same time points. Moreover, changes in salivary cortisol positively correlated with SAA (0.44 \u3c rho \u3c 0.56), bolstering the position that the origin of the changes in SAA reflect central NE. This work points toward the potential value of SAA as an inexpensive and non-invasive procedure to obtain information about activation of the central NE system

Intensive exercise does not preferentially mobilise skin-homing T cells and NK cells

Purpose: This study investigated whether natural killer (NK) cells and CD8+ T cells expressing cutaneous lymphocyte antigen (CLA) – a homing molecule for endothelial cell leukocyte adhesion molecule 1 (ELAM-1), which enables transmigration to the skin – are selectively mobilised in response to acute exercise. Methods: Nine healthy males (mean ± SD age: 22.1 ± 3.4 years) completed two exercise sessions: high-intensity continuous cycling (‘continuous exercise’ at 80% MAX for 20 min) and low-volume high-intensity interval exercise (‘HIIE’ at 90% MAX 10 × 1 min repetitions with 1 min recovery intervals). Blood was collected before, immediately- and 30 min post-exercise for cryo-preservation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. CLA+ and CLA− cells were quantified within NK subpopulations (CD56bright ‘regulatory’ and CD56dim ‘cytotoxic’ cells) as well as the following CD8+ T cell subpopulations: naive (‘NA’; CD45RA+CCR7+), central memory (‘CM’; CD45RA−CCR7+), effector-memory (‘EM’; CD45RA−CCR7−) and CD45RA-expressing effector-memory cells (‘EMRA’; CD45RA+CCR7−). Results: CLA+ NK cells and CD8+ memory T cells increased in response to both exercise bouts, but, overall, their numerical contribution to the exercise lymphocytosis was inferior to CLA− cells, which increased to a much greater extent during exercise. Tellingly, the most exercise-responsive cells – effector memory CD8+ cells and CD56dim cells – were CLA−. Conclusions: A small subset of CLA+ lymphocytes are mobilised into blood during acute intensive exercise, but CLA+ cells are not major contributors to exercise lymphocytosis, thus providing preliminary evidence that the skin is not a major origin, or homing-destination, of exercise-sensitive lymphocytes

Exercise Selectively Mobilises Skin-Homing Effector CD8+ T Cells and Natural Killer Cells into Peripheral Blood.

Introduction: Acute exercise induces a transient mobilisation of lymphocyes into peripheral blood that is largely comprised of CD8+ T cells and natural killer (NK) cells. The magnitude of this response is dependent on the differentiation status of these lymphocyte subsets, thus cells with a capacity to initiate rapid effector function (i.e., cytokine secretion and target killing) exhibit the largest changes in response to exercise. It is hypothesised that the effector cells preferentially mobilised into the bloodstream have high tissue-migrating potential, however, the origin of these cells, and their potential homing destination(s) following exercise has not been established in humans. Accordingly, this study investigated whether CD8+ and NK cell subsets expressing the cutaneous lymphocte antigen (CLA) – a molecule expressed on skin-associated memory lymphocytes (≤ 20% CD8+ T cells and ≤ 50%NK cells) that binds to endothelial cell leukocyte adhesion molecule 1 (ELAM-1) – were selectively mobilised in response to acute exercise. Methods: Ten healthy males (mean ± SD age: 22 ± 3 yrs) completed two different exercise sessions: high-intensity continuous cycling (CC; 85% at HRPeak for 30 mins) and high-intensity interval training (HIIT; 90% of HRpeak 10 x 1 min repetitions with 1 min rest intervals). Blood was taken before, immediately- and 30 min post-exercise for cryo-preservation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells. CD8+ subsets were classified into naive (NA; CD45RA+CCR7+), central memory (CM; CD45RA−CCR7+), effector-memory (EM; CD45RA−CCR7−) and CD45RA- expressing effector-memory cells (EMRA; CD45RA+CCR7−). In parallel, CD56bright ‘regulatory’ and CD56dim ‘cytotoxic’ NK subsets were identified using CD56 and CD16. Lymphocyte subpopulations were examined for CLA expression. Results: The number of CLA+CD8+ cells increased in response to both exercise modes. This observation was driven by a preferential mobilisation of effector-memory CLA+CD8+ T cells, as shown by the percentage change in cell number from baseline to exercise: EMRA (CC 244%, HIIT 86%) \u3e EM (CC 142%, HIIT 75%) \u3e CM (CC 104%, HIIT 51%) \u3e naive (CC 82%, HIIT 34%). Within the NK cell pool, CLA+CD56dim cells (CC 520%, HIIT 326%) were mobilised to a greater extent than CLA+CD56bright cells (CC 180%, HIIT 129%). 30-min post-exercise, there was a reduction in the number of CLA+ cells compared to pre-exercise values. Conclusion: This is the first study to demonstrate a selective mobilisation of skin-homing lymphocytes during exercise, suggesting that exercise redistributes effector cells to peripheral tissue, contributing to immune-surveillance

The Neuromodulatory and Hormonal Effects of Transcutaneous Vagus Nerve Stimulation as Evidenced by Salivary Alpha Amylase, Salivary Cortisol, Pupil Diameter, and the P3 Event-Related Potential

Background Transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation (tVNS) is a new, non-invasive technique being investigated as an intervention for a variety of clinical disorders, including epilepsy and depression. It is thought to exert its therapeutic effect by increasing central norepinephrine (NE) activity, but the evidence supporting this notion is limited. Objective In order to test for an impact of tVNS on psychophysiological and hormonal indices of noradrenergic function, we applied tVNS in concert with assessment of salivary alpha amylase (SAA) and cortisol, pupil size, and electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings. Methods Across three experiments, we applied real and sham tVNS to 61 healthy participants while they performed a set of simple stimulus-discrimination tasks. Before and after the task, as well as during one break, participants provided saliva samples and had their pupil size recorded. EEG was recorded throughout the task. The target for tVNS was the cymba conchae, which is heavily innervated by the auricular branch of the vagus nerve. Sham stimulation was applied to the ear lobe. Results P3 amplitude was not affected by tVNS (Experiment 1A: N = 24; Experiment 1B: N = 20; Bayes factor supporting null model = 4.53), nor was pupil size (Experiment 2: N = 16; interaction of treatment and time: p = .79). However, tVNS increased SAA (Experiments 1A and 2: N = 25) and attenuated the decline of salivary cortisol compared to sham (Experiment 2: N = 17), as indicated by significant interactions involving treatment and time (p = .023 and p = .040, respectively). Conclusion These findings suggest that tVNS modulates hormonal indices but not psychophysiological indices of noradrenergic function