Tait JL, Aisbett B, Hall SJ, Main LC. The inflammatory response to simulated day and night emergency alarm mobilisations.
PLoS One 2019;
14:e0218732. [PMID:
31226144 PMCID:
PMC6588278 DOI:
10.1371/journal.pone.0218732]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 06/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Purpose
Responding to emergency alarms is a daily occurrence for personnel in safety-critical occupations, and is associated with negative health outcomes in this population. The purpose of the present study was to determine the acute inflammatory response to an isolated emergency alarm mobilisation in both day and night conditions.
Methods
Sixteen healthy males (mean age 25 ± 4 years) spent four days and nights in a sleep laboratory and were required to mobilise to an emergency alarm either during the day (1558 h), or from nocturnal sleep (0358 h). Pro (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-8, IL-6) and anti-inflammatory (IL-4 and IL-10) cytokine responses to each alarm mobilisation were compared to time-matched control conditions without the alarm and mobilisation stimulus.
Results
Analysis revealed no significant drift of cytokine levels at 1400 h across the study (P≥0.139). The plasma concentration of anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-4 was 84% greater in the 2-h sampling period following night alarm mobilisation compared to a night control of gentle awakening (P = 0.049), no other condition-by-time interactions were observed. The majority of inflammatory concentrations did not significantly change between alarm mobilisation and control conditions, in either day or night trials.
Conclusions
These findings may reflect the lack of a true emergency (and the perceived stress) for the alarm mobilisation, together with the neutralising effect of different circadian biorhythms on inflammatory cytokine concentrations.
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