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Associations between inflammatory markers and well-being during 12 weeks of basic military training

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Abstract

Purpose

Stress, anxiety and physical exertion are all closely linked to well-being, and each can alter immune function. Diminished well-being has been observed during military training, however there is mixed evidence regarding whether concomitant changes in inflammatory markers occur, with these phenomena indicating potential maladaptive responses to imposed training loads. The aims of this project were (1) assess changes in inflammation and subjective well-being across a 12-week basic military training (BMT) program, and (2) evaluate relationships between circulating inflammatory markers and well-being.

Methods

A total of 37 men and women undergoing 12 weeks of BMT in Australia were recruited. Well-being was assessed via questionnaire (DASS-21), and plasma samples were collected for the analysis of inflammatory cytokines [interleukin (IL)-4, IL-6, IL-1β, IL-8, IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α] at weeks 1, 4, 8 and 12. Data were analysed using general linear mixed models.

Results

Depression, anxiety and stress subscale scores all significantly improved (all P ≤ 0.001), and TNF-α decreased (P = 0.031) across time. Compared to baseline (week 1), significant decreases in associations between depression and IL-10, anxiety and IL-10, and stress and IL-10, IL-4 IL-6 and TNF-α (all P < 0.05), were detected across BMT.

Conclusion

The BMT program appears to support improved well-being over the 12 weeks, with minimal perturbation to inflammatory markers. Biomarkers and well-being displayed consistent associations and may have utility as psychophysiological indicators of health status in military research, however for now, subjective measures may represent more cost-effective proxies for ongoing monitoring of military personnel.

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Data availability

All data generated or analysed during this study are included in this published article.

Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

BMI:

Body mass index

BMT:

Basic military training

CV:

Coefficient of variation

DASS-21:

Depression Anxiety Stress Scale—21-item version

GLMMs:

General Linear Mixed Models

IL-1β:

Interleukin-1 beta

IL-4:

Interleukin-4

IL-6:

Interleukin-6

IL-8:

Interleukin-8

IL-10:

Interleukin-10

MSST:

Multi-stage shuttle test

NF-OR:

Non-functional overreaching

PTSD:

Post traumatic stress disorder

rev·min− 1 :

Revolutions per minute

SEM:

Standard error of the mean

SD:

Standard deviation

TNF-α:

Tumor necrosis factor alpha

VO2 max:

Maximal oxygen uptake

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank the participants and the Australian Army for their cooperation, time and efforts in this study.

Funding

The results reported herein correspond to specific aims of a grant from the Commonwealth of Australia represented by The Defence and Science Technology Group of the Department of Defence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia

    Jamie L. Tait & Sean Bulmer

  2. Defence Science and Technology Group, Fishermans Bend, Australia

    Jace R. Drain

  3. Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia

    Luana C. Main

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  1. Jamie L. Tait
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  2. Sean Bulmer
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  3. Jace R. Drain
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  4. Luana C. Main
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Contributions

Study concept and design: LM, JD; acquisition of data: SB, JT, LM; analysis and interpretation of data: JT; drafting of the manuscript: JT; critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: all authors. Each of the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Luana C. Main.

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None declared.

Ethics approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. This study was approved by the Department of Defence and Veteran’s Affairs Human Research Ethics Committee (021–17).

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Communicated by Fabio Fischetti.

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Tait, J.L., Bulmer, S., Drain, J.R. et al. Associations between inflammatory markers and well-being during 12 weeks of basic military training. Eur J Appl Physiol 121, 849–860 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-020-04554-8

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