Inflammatory activity and academic performance in university students

Abstract

This study aimed to assess inflammatory levels in first year university students and to determine whether associations exist between pro-inflammatory biomarker levels and academic performance. Inflammatory activity was assessed by urinary neopterin-to-creatinine ratios in 180 students attending a large South African university (females = 69.4%; mean age = 20.16 years, SD = 2.76 years) and by plasma interleukin-6, neopterin and neopterin-to-creatinine ratios in 37 students (females = 81%; mean age = 19.65 years, SD = 1.64 years). The academic performance measure was the standardised general mean of marks in a common core of classes required for graduation and performance within a specific module. Despite inter-individual variations, inflammatory biomarker values for all students fell within normal ranges. No pro-inflammatory biomarker correlated significantly with measures of academic performance. From these findings, we conclude that variations within normal ranges of inflammatory activity do not significantly influence academic performance. However, many environmental factors cause low-grade systemic inflammation and the results on inflammatory status cannot summarily be generalised to all students.