The relationship between disgust sensitivity and serum cytokine levels in non-pregnant women: a generalization of previous results on pregnant population

The behavioral immune system functions via the emotion of disgust, which triggers avoidant reactions that protect the individual from pathogens. The behavioral immune system is closely linked with the physiological immune system; their mutually compensatory and preparatory functions are discussed. A recent study on pregnant women supported the notion that disgust increases when the physiological immune system is not sufficiently activated. The aim of this current study was to confirm these results on 78 healthy non-pregnant women, measuring immune activity via multiplex immunoassay and disgust sensitivity via the Disgust Scale Revised (DS-R), Three Domains of Disgust Scale (TDDS) and Tactile Disgust Stimuli Set, as well as Perceived Vulnerability to Disease. We showed a significant negative association between DS-R contamination disgust and IL-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-8 and TNF-α and DS-R core disgust and MCP-1, supporting a possible compensatory relationship between the systems. Several cytokines were also negatively associated with TDDS moral disgust (e.g. IL-1β, IL-2, IL-5, TNF-α). Simultaneously, we observed positive associations between IL-2, IL-5, IL-10 and IL-12 and the DS-R core disgust. The role of these cytokines in chronic respiratory conditions and their associations with mental health provide suggestions for possible interconnections between the research areas of disgust, physical and mental health. We found no significant association with tactile disgust and perceived vulnerability to disease. Our findings could thus support both the adaptive function of disgust as well as its links to mental health and point to the complexity of the behavioral immune system.