Abstract # 1710 The relationship between mood and inflammatory biomarkers is influenced by their temporal proximity and mood measurement

We examined whether peripheral inflammatory markers were better predicted by negative and positive affect (NA and PA) measures derived from ecological momentary assessment (EMA) in daily life, as compared to standard recall “over the past month” questionnaire. Diverse adult participants ( N = 206) completed questionnaires and then EMAs 5x/day for 14 days; blood was drawn afterwards, from which levels of IL-1beta, IL-2, IL-4, IL-5, IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, TNF-alpha, IFN-gamma, GM-CSF, and hsCRP were determined. Analyses controlled for BMI, age, gender, income, marital status, race/ethnicity, health conditions, and use of statins/anti-depressants. NA and PA derived from standard recall were not related to any biomarker. EMA reports were aggregated across each of the two weeks; Week 1 affect was not associated with any biomarker, but week 2 NA (more proximal to the blood draw) was associated with higher levels of every cytokine except IL-5 and IL-1beta (ps.01 to .001) and week 2 PA was associated with lower IL-6 ( p < .05). Exploratory analyses further suggest that the association between inflammation and momentary affect weakens the further in time the affect measures occurred from the blood draw. These novel findings suggest that the temporal proximity of EMA to biomarker assessments may be critical. This research prompts vital questions about how the measurement of affect (e.g., timing, type) influences its link with physiological outcomes that change over short periods of time.