Asymptomatic malaria and hepatitis B do not influence cytokine responses of persons involved in chronic sedentary activities

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases Vol. 20; no. 1; p. 957
• Main Authors: Anabire, Nsoh Godwin, Aryee, Paul Armah, Ziblim, Zulka, Suurbaar, Jonathan, Ansah, Felix, Helegbe, Gideon Kofi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 14.12.2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Alcohol; Anemia; Asymptomatic; Asymptomatic Diseases - epidemiology; Blood pressure; Cardiovascular diseases; Care and treatment; Coinfection - epidemiology; Coinfection - parasitology; Coinfection - virology; Comorbidity; Cross-Sectional Studies; Cytokines; Cytokines - blood; Development and progression; Evaluation; Female; Ghana - epidemiology; Health aspects; Hepatitis; Hepatitis B; Hepatitis B - blood; Hepatitis B - epidemiology; Hepatitis B - virology; Hepatitis B virus - genetics; Humans; Hypertension; IL-1β; Immune response; Infections; Infectious diseases; Inflammation; Interleukin 10; Interleukin 12; Interleukin 13; Interleukin 6; Interleukin 7; Interleukin 8; Laboratories; Lifestyles; Malaria; Malaria, Falciparum - blood; Malaria, Falciparum - epidemiology; Malaria, Falciparum - parasitology; Male; Mars; Middle Aged; Observations; Plasmodium falciparum; Plasmodium falciparum - genetics; Polymerase chain reaction; Questionnaires; Sedentary Behavior; Sedentary lifestyle; Self Report; Self-medication; Sociodemographics; Statistical analysis; Statistical tests; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; Tumor necrosis factor-α; Vector-borne diseases; Viruses; Working hours; Young Adult; Young adults; γ-Interferon; Ghana; United States > US; Hypertension; Sedentary lifestyle; Cytokines; Malaria; Hepatitis B
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-020-05692-2

Chronic Sedentary lifestyles have been linked to increased odds of stress, elevated anxiety and diminished wellbeing, inducing cytokine production and predispose to hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. In endemic areas, Plasmodium falciparum and hepatitis B virus (HBV) infections can trigger pro-inflammatory cytokine responses. However, the impact of these infections on cytokine response profiles in individuals engaged in chronic sedentary activities is unknown. This study was aimed at addressing these concerns using a predominantly sedentary population of traders in the Tamale metropolis of Ghana. Four hundred respondents were categorized, based on their number of working years (< or ≥ 5 years) and number of working hours per day (< or ≥ 10 h), into sedentary (≥5 years + ≥ 10 h) and non-sedentary (≥ 5 years + < 10 h, < 5 years + ≥ 10 h and <  5 years + < 10 h) groups. The participants were tested for P. falciparum and HBV infections using polymerase chain reaction. Blood pressure and cytokines responses were measured. Associations and comparison analysis between variables were determined, and test statistics with p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Infection status included: un-infected (93.5%), P. falciparum mono-infected (1.0%), HBV mono-infected (3.0%) or P. falciparum /HBV co-infected (2.5%). Majority of the participants, 57.0% (n = 228) were involved in chronic sedentary life style. That notwithstanding, sedentary lifestyle was independent of the infection groups (χ  = 7.08, p = 0.629). Hypertension was diagnosed in 53.8% of respondents and was independent of infection status (X  = 6.33, p = 0.097). Pro-inflammatory (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8 and IL-12) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10, IL-7 and IL-13) cytokine responses were similar among individuals with different sedentary working time and between hypertensive and non-hypertensive individuals (p > 0.05 for all comparisons). Among individuals with different infection status, pro-inflammatory (TNF-α; p = 0.290, IL-1β; p = 0.442, IL-6; p = 0.686, IFN-γ; p = 0.801, IL-8; p = 0.546, IL-12; p = 0.154) and anti-inflammatory (IL-10; p = 0.201, IL-7; p = 0.190, IL-13; p = 0.763) cytokine responses were similar. Our data suggest that asymptomatic infections of P. falciparum and HBV together with a high prevalence of hypertension did not have any significant impact on cytokine response profiles among predominantly sedentary traders in the Tamale metropolis of Ghana.