The Lab: “Self-Reported Stress and Well-Being Impacts Immune Response to Maximal Exercise in Collegiate Swimmers”

ABSTRACT

Exposure to acute psychological and physiological stressors is associated with impairments in immune function, including reduced exercise-induced mobilization of naïve (NA) T-cells and increased mobilization of antigen-specific, highly differentiated T-cells following maximal exercise. However, the impact of sustained stressors on the immune response to maximal exercise is unknown. Purpose: Characterize the impact of self-reported stress and well-being on lymphocyte responses to acute bouts of exercise in collegiate swimmers over six months. Methods: Blood samples were collected from fifteen NCAA D1 swimmers (7 M, 6 F: 19.8 ± 0.7 y) before and after maximal swims at two timepoints (V1: immediately post-season 1 and V3: early season 2). An additional mid-off season timepoint (V2) was collected in a subset of nine swimmers. T-cells were quantified by flow cytometry, and self-reported measures of sleep quality (PSQI), symptoms of upper respiratory tract infection (URTI, WURRS-21), and overtraining (DALDA) were collected. Linear mixed models were used to determine the effects of exercise, season timepoint, and their interaction on lymphocyte percentages (α=0.05). Pearson’s correlation coefficients were used to assess correlations between lymphocyte percentages and stress measures.  Results: Lower sleep quality was correlated with greater resting and post-exercise senescent CD4+ T-cell percentages (r= 0.44, p= 0.01; r= 0.47, p = 0.004, respectively). Low sleep quality was also correlated with lower post-exercise NA CD4+ T-cells (r= -0.35, p= 0.04). Higher ratings of self-reported symptoms of URTI (r= 0.38, p= 0.02) and overtraining (r= 0.38, p= 0.02) were correlated with greater post-exercise senescent CD4+ T-cell percentages. Compared to pre-exercise, post-exercise NA CD8+ T-cell percentages were lower at V1 and V2, while CD8+ T-cell percentages were higher post-exercise (p < 0.01). Discussion: Elevations in stress and well-being at rest adversely impacted immune response to maximal exercise in collegiate swimmers. Impaired sleep quality and higher URTI and overtraining symptoms were associated with an exacerbated exercise-induced mobilization of senescent CD8+ T-cells, highlighting the importance of monitoring athlete stress level and overall well-being throughout the competitive season.

RESEARCHERS

Bailey Theall1; Haoyan Wang1; Connor A. Kuremsky1; Eunhan Cho1; Katelyn Hardin1; Lyle Robelot1; Jack Marucci2; Shelly Mullenix2; Nathan Lemoine Jr.2; Brian A. Irving, FACSM1,3; Neil M. Johannsen1,3; Guillaume Spielmann 1,3

REFERENCE

Theall, B., Wang, H., Kuremsky, C., Cho, e., Hardin, K., Robelot, L., Marucci, j., Mullenix, S., Lemoine, Jr., N., Irving, B., Johannsen, N., Spielmann, G., 2020. Self-reported stress and well-being impacts immune response to maximal exercise in collegiate swimmers: Accepted for presentation at the national ACSM conference 2020.