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Objectives: Acute laboratory Stressors elicit elevations in serum levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Chronic Stressors, such as family dementia caregiving, promote a state of chronic low-grade elevation in circulating inflammatory markers. The recurrent daily Stressors associated with chronic stress may lead to repeated and sustained activation of the physiological stress systems. The present study evaluated the possibility that greater exposure and reactivity to daily Stressors fueled increased levels of circulating inflammatory markers among family dementia caregivers, compared with noncaregiving controls. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 53 caregivers and 77 noncaregiving controls. A semistructured interview assessed the occurrence of daily Stressors in the past 24 h. A blood sample provided data on two inflammatory markers, C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Results: Caregivers were more likely to experience multiple Stressors in the past 24 h than noncaregiving controls. The occurrence of multiple daily Stressors was associated with greater serum IL-6 and CRP levels. The greater occurrence of daily Stressors in the past 24 h partially mediated the relationship between dementia caregiving and CRP levels. Conclusion: These results suggest that the cumulative effect of daily Stressors promotes elevations in inflammatory markers. Greater exposure to daily Stressors may be a psychobiological mechanism leading to elevations in CRP levels among family dementia caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stress exposure increases risk for depressive symptoms. However, there are substantial individual differences in affective responses to stress. High-frequency heart rate variability (HF-HRV), a marker of vagally-mediated parasympathetic activity, has been conceptualized as a psychophysiological index of emotion regulation that may moderate individuals' responses to stress. Using a daily diary design, we tested whether individual differences in resting HF-HRV moderated the association between daily child-related stress and negative affect among a sample of 84 heterosexual couples with preschool-aged children. After controlling for participants' age, gender, socioeconomic status, employment status, and ethnicity, hierarchical linear modeling revealed that resting HF-HRV moderated both the between-person and within-person associations between self-reported child-related stress and daily negative affect. Between-person analyses indicated that the strength of the positive association between mean daily child stress and negative affect across the daily diary period increased with decreasing resting HF-HRV. Similarly, within-person analyses indicated that on days when participants reported more child-related stress than usual, the magnitude of the increase in negative affect on that day was inversely related to resting HF-HRV. Taken together, these findings suggest that lower resting HF-HRV may index vulnerability to stress-related disturbances in negative affect. This increased negative affective response to daily stress may be one pathway through which individuals with lower resting HF-HRV are at increased risk for depressive symptoms over time. • Low heart rate variability (HRV) is related to affective reactivity to daily stress. • HRV moderates the between -person associations between stress and negative affect. • HRV moderates the within -person associations between stress and negative affect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]