Abstract PO-079: Interactions with neighbors and depressive symptom severity influence associations between exercise and inflammation in African Americans
Authors: Herren Olga M. , Kirk Keri , Agurs-Collins Tanya 
Published: January 2022

Background: African Americans (AAs) are disproportionately affected by chronic disease and some cancers. Adequate amounts of moderate and vigorous exercise are essential to maintaining good health. The impacts of exercise on health occur through inflammatory mechanisms, which are implicated in most chronic diseases. More exercise is each related to lower levels of pro-inflammatory biomarkers, C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Recent research has identified that perceptions of neighborhood quality, such as frequency of social interactions with neighbors impact health behavior and cardiometabolic health among AAs. This may occur through stress and allostatic load, as higher levels of CRP and IL-6 are indicative of chronic stress. We seek to extend this research by investigating whether social aspects of neighborhood quality moderate associations between exercise and inflammation. Furthermore, depression has been shown to increase inflammation, worsen health outcomes, and may further moderate these associations. Methods: Data from the Midlife in the United States survey collected during the Refresher phase (2011-2016) were used. 155 AA adults, aged between 25 and 73 (mean age= 47), completed psychosocial surveys, daily diaries of exercise, measures of neighborhood quality, and objectively measured WC, CRP and IL-6. Results: The sample had a mean WC of 102.35 cm, was highly educated (68.4% at least some college), and 69% female. There was an interactive association between frequency of social interaction with neighbors and exercise and IL-6 (B=.23, p=.04) and CRP (B=.35, p=.045). Having social interactions with neighbors several times a week and more exercise was associated with higher levels of IL-6 and CRP. Those with little social interactions with neighbors showed typical negative associations between exercise and inflammation. Depression symptom severity moderated the interaction between exercise and frequency of social interactions on CRP (B=.046, p=.04), such that those with clinical severity may benefit differently from some regular interaction with neighbors. Conclusion: Frequent social interactions with neighbors may not always be positive, even in the presence of high levels of exercise. Conversations about illness, loss, crime, insufficient resources, or discrimination are factors that can affect inflammation over time. However, this is likely to differ by neighborhood and mental health status of the participant. Further analyses in larger and more diverse AA samples may show a complexity of the stress response in AAs that must be further explored.

Citation Format: Olga M. Herren, Keri Kirk, Tanya Agurs-Collins. Interactions with neighbors and depressive symptom severity influence associations between exercise and inflammation in African Americans [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Conference: 14th AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2021 Oct 6-8. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2022;31(1 Suppl):Abstract nr PO-079.