ABSTRACT
How protected is one against COVID-19 after vaccination? IgG antibodies are an important part of the artillery for the immune system's defense against the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and its levels are predictive of protection against infection. The amount of antibodies produced by some individuals is exponentially higher than by others. This difference represents important variance in the future susceptibility to COVID-19 infection. The current study was conducted to determine whether individuals were able to estimate how many antibodies they produced after their COVID-19 vaccinations. 166 participants (18-60 years old, 103 female) were recruited to the laboratory 14-60 days post-vaccination, and a blood sample was taken for analysis. Participants were asked to estimate on a scale from 0-10 how many antibodies they had produced, and were also asked how protected they felt from COVID-19 due to vaccination. Both self-predicted antibody levels (r(162) = 0.17, p = 0.028), and feelings of protection against COVID-19 (r(162) = 0.20, p = 0.009) were significantly related to their actual IgG spike antibody titers. Results from this study suggest that individuals are able to predict their IgG titers after COVID-19 vaccination. These results hold relevance in two domains. Firstly, they suggest individuals who sense they have low protection, probably do. Such information can help individuals make informed choices about self-protective behaviors. Secondly, results provide empirical evidence for the transmission of immune information through humoral pathways of interoception. These findings open the door for future work in the intriguing domain of immune interoception.
ABSTRACT
Background: Experiencing severe or prolonged stressors in early life is associated with increased risk for mental and physical disorders in adulthood. Individuals with a history of early life adversity (ELA) may use dysfunctional coping strategies like stress-related eating, in contrast to more beneficial stress coping mechanisms like mindfulness. Whether these associations contribute to increased levels of perceived stress and symptoms of mental disorders in individuals with ELA in times of crisis is yet unclear. The current Covid-19 pandemic allows researchers to investigate stress-coping as mediators in the association between ELA and subjective stress experience in response to crisis. Methods As part of a larger project, we assessed changes in perceived stress, psychopathological symptoms, and eating behavior in a sample of N = 102 participants (81% female;meanage = 23.45, range 18–62) from October/December 2019 (prior to the pandemic) to April/June 2020 (after the German government introduced Covid-19 related restrictions). Further, we assessed ELA and dispositional mindfulness. The study protocol and preregistration of our hypotheses can be obtained online (https://osf.io/h5tjx/). Results Preliminary results show significant increases in perceived stress levels and depression, significant decrease in anxiety symptoms, and no significant change in somatization symptoms. Additional results from multiple regression and bootstrapping mediation models will be presented and discussed. Conclusion The increase in perceived stress during the Covid-19 pandemic in a majority of participants emphasizes the severity of the current pandemic and implicates important considerations stress researchers should take into account when collecting data during the ongoing pandemic, e.g. by statistically controlling for stress levels.