TY - JOUR
T1 - Interactions Between Caregiving and Sex and the Antibody Response to COVID-19 Vaccination
AU - Gallagher, Stephen
AU - Ryan, Ruth
AU - Cassidy, Irene
AU - Tang, Wenyi
AU - Whittaker, Anna C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
PY - 2024/9/1
Y1 - 2024/9/1
N2 - Objective: Antibody response to vaccination is a powerful paradigm for studying the effects of chronic stress on immune function. In the present study, we used this paradigm to examine the interaction between caregiving (as a type of chronic stress) and sex on the antibody response to a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccination; recent research has called for examination of sex differences on health outcomes among family caregivers. A three-way interaction between caregiving, sex, and psychological distress was also examined. Methods: COVID-19 antibody data were extracted from 165 caregivers (98 females) and 386 non-caregivers (244 females) from the UK’s Understanding Society COVID-19 study. Relevant sociodemographics, health and lifestyle, and distress variables were gathered as potential covariates. Results: In a 2 2 ANOVA, we found that the interaction between caregiving and sex was significant; male caregivers had a lower antibody response to the vaccine compared to female caregivers (F(1,547), =24.82, p < .001, η2p = 0.043). Following adjustment, male caregivers had the lowest antibody response relative to all other groups. The three-way interaction model, controlling for covariates, was also significant (R2 = 0.013, p = .049); the conditional effects for the three-way interaction revealed that male caregivers, compared to the other groups, had a lower antibody response at both low and medium levels of psychological distress. Conclusion: This study found evidence of a three-way interaction between caregiving, sex, and distress on antibody response. Male caregivers had poorer antibody response to a single shot of the COVID-19 vaccination than female caregivers and male and female non-caregivers, and this was evident at low and medium levels of distress. Our findings will be discussed in relation to the caregiver and sex interactions during the pandemic.
AB - Objective: Antibody response to vaccination is a powerful paradigm for studying the effects of chronic stress on immune function. In the present study, we used this paradigm to examine the interaction between caregiving (as a type of chronic stress) and sex on the antibody response to a single dose of a COVID-19 vaccination; recent research has called for examination of sex differences on health outcomes among family caregivers. A three-way interaction between caregiving, sex, and psychological distress was also examined. Methods: COVID-19 antibody data were extracted from 165 caregivers (98 females) and 386 non-caregivers (244 females) from the UK’s Understanding Society COVID-19 study. Relevant sociodemographics, health and lifestyle, and distress variables were gathered as potential covariates. Results: In a 2 2 ANOVA, we found that the interaction between caregiving and sex was significant; male caregivers had a lower antibody response to the vaccine compared to female caregivers (F(1,547), =24.82, p < .001, η2p = 0.043). Following adjustment, male caregivers had the lowest antibody response relative to all other groups. The three-way interaction model, controlling for covariates, was also significant (R2 = 0.013, p = .049); the conditional effects for the three-way interaction revealed that male caregivers, compared to the other groups, had a lower antibody response at both low and medium levels of psychological distress. Conclusion: This study found evidence of a three-way interaction between caregiving, sex, and distress on antibody response. Male caregivers had poorer antibody response to a single shot of the COVID-19 vaccination than female caregivers and male and female non-caregivers, and this was evident at low and medium levels of distress. Our findings will be discussed in relation to the caregiver and sex interactions during the pandemic.
KW - COVID-19
KW - antibody response
KW - caregiving
KW - gender
KW - psychological distress
KW - sex
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85203145299&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001322
DO - 10.1097/PSY.0000000000001322
M3 - Article
C2 - 38787544
AN - SCOPUS:85203145299
SN - 0033-3174
VL - 86
SP - 633
EP - 639
JO - Psychosomatic Medicine
JF - Psychosomatic Medicine
IS - 7
ER -