Preliminary Exploration of Physical Activity Moderation on Stress and Immune Health in College-Based Young Adults 

PRELIMINARY EXPLORATION OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY MODERATION ON STRESS AND IMMUNE HEALTH IN COLLEGE-BASED YOUNG ADULTS  Andrew M. Koessler1, Jeb F. Struder1, Aiden J. Chauntry1, Jake C. Diana1, Christopher E. Grice1, Keith M. Diaz2, Bethany B. Gibbs3, Feng-Chang Lin1, Michelle L. Meyer1, Justin B. Moore4, Erik D. Hanson1  1University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA 27599  2Columbia University, New York, NY, USA 10032  3West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA 26506  4Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA 27101  BACKGROUND: Some college-based young adults (CBYA) have reported elevated levels of psychological stress due to pressures related to academic performance. Chronic stress may contribute to negative health outcomes, including diminished immune function. Physical activity (PA) has been shown to improve immune function and reduce stress; however, high rates of physical inactivity have been reported within CBYA. Currently, it is unclear if PA moderates the relationship between perceived stress and immune function in CBYA. PURPOSE: To explore the moderative role of PA on measurements of perceived stress and immune function in CBYA.   METHODS: 38 healthy individuals (71.1% female, 44.7% white, age: 20.2±1.5y, BMI: 22.9±3.6kg∙m-2) arrived at the laboratory in a fasted state where they completed measurements of psychological stress (Perceived Stress Scale – 10 Items; PSS-10) and a resting blood sample was collected for white blood cell (WBC) quantification. PA was tracked via a thigh-based accelerometer (activPAL4) for 7 days post-visit. Mean daily Euclidean Norm Minus One (ENMO) measurements were calculated to quantify total PA volume via the GGIR R package. Moderation analyses were performed via the medmod module in jamovi with significance set to pRESULTS: The moderating effect between stress and PA on immune function was not statistically significant (β: 3.46x10-4, 95%CI: -3.73x10-4-0.0012, p=0.345). The direct effects of stress (β:0.052, 95%CI: -0.0920-0.1953, p=0.481) and PA (β: -1.55x10-4, 95%CI: -0.0028-0.0025, p=0.905) on immune function were also not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Total volume of daily PA did not moderate the association between perceived stress and immune function. Likewise, a direct effect was also not observed between stress or PA alone on immune health, which may indicate a lack of statistical power due to a small sample size. Ongoing analyses will continue to investigate this relationship with a larger sample size and will include additional assessments on the moderative role of other PA factors (e.g., intensity, frequency, duration, etc.) to further our understanding of the benefits of PA within CBYA. Funding: Research supported by the National Heart, Lung, And Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health, Award Number R01HL162805 and R01HL157187.