Stress assessment in acute care department nurses by measuring interleukin-8.

Background:  Cytokines, such as interleukin (IL)-8, have been shown to be related to depressive symptoms or inflammatory diseases and may be useful as stress biomarkers. Aim:  This study was to assess whether urinary IL-8 levels were reliable indicators of stress among acute care department (AD) nurses. Methods:  A total of 118 nurses participated in the study. Urinary IL-8 levels of 49 AD nurses were compared with levels of a control group of 69 chronic care department (CD) nurses. Results:  The urinary IL-8 levels of AD nurses, who reported a higher level of professional stress, were higher than the levels of CD nurses (P < 0.01). Conclusion:  Measurement of urinary IL-8 may be an appropriate biomarker for stress assessment in nurses.