Lecturing to 200 students and its effects on cytokine concentration and salivary markers of adrenal activation

Stress not only activates the SAM system and the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axes, but also the immune system. The aims of this study are to assess the physiological variations in saliva (cytokines, cortisol and alpha‐amylase) and perceived stress in professors when they had to lecture to 200 students. A total of eight unstimulated saliva samples were collected from nine professors: four on a working day that included the lecture and four controls on a working day without a lecture. The professors also rated subjective stress on a seven‐point scale 5 min before the lecture, immediately after the lecture and at the same times on the control day. The lecture elicited substantial increases in subjective stress ratings, with the values on the lecture day significantly higher than those on the control day. Lecturing resulted in significant increases in Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)‐α, Interleukin (IL)‐2 and IL‐4 concentrations, but did not affect the IL‐10 values. These changes appeared to be concomitant with changes in the concentrations of the stress markers, alpha‐amylase and cortisol. The mechanisms by which psychosocial stress can induce cytokine changes and modify the activity of salivary alpha‐amylase are not entirely understood, and further research is thus warranted. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.