We examined relationships between multiple sources of early life stress and adult immune function in humans. Adult participants provided retrospective information about their childhood a) socioeconomic status, b) household unpredictability, and c) exposure to adverse experiences. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells were then isolated for use in functional assays: a) tumor cell lysis by natural killer cells, and b) phagocytosis of Escherichia coli bioparticles, and c) mitogen-induced leukocyte proliferation and cytokine release. In men, lower childhood socioeconomic status predicted decrements in immunological performance across functional assays, along with greater spontaneous cytokine release from PBMCs. These changes co-occurred with elevations in plasma testosterone levels. Similar effects were not observed for other sources of stress, nor were they found in women (with the exception of spontaneous cytokine release). These findings provide evidence that low childhood socioeconomic status has a lasting negative impact on multiple aspects of immune function, particularly in men.

中文翻译：

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儿童社会经济地位对免疫功能的影响中的性别差异

我们研究了人类早期生活压力的多种来源与成人免疫功能之间的关系。成年参与者提供了有关他们的童年的回顾性信息：a）社会经济状况，b）家庭不可预测性和c）不良经历的暴露。然后分离出外周血单核细胞以用于功能测定：a）通过自然杀伤细胞裂解肿瘤细胞，和b）吞噬大肠杆菌生物颗粒，以及c）促分裂原诱导的白细胞增殖和细胞因子释放。在男性中，童年较低的社会经济状况预示着各种功能测定的免疫学性能会下降，并且自PBMC释放出更多的自发细胞因子。这些变化与血浆睾丸激素水平升高同时发生。对于其他压力来源，未观察到类似的效果，在妇女中也没有发现（自发细胞因子释放除外）。这些发现提供了证据，表明儿童期低的社会经济地位对免疫功能的多个方面具有持久的负面影响，尤其是在男性中。