Table 4.

Studies in Which Biomarkers Were Used to Monitor Intervention Effects.

Biomarker	First Author (Year)	Intervention	Results
Neuroendocrine function
Cortisol	Fancourt (2016)a	Music intervention	↓post-INT (vs. pre-INT) (ns) current CGs (vs. bereaved CGs, patients)
	Laudenslager (2015)a	PEPRR	CAR: (ns) post-INT (vs. pre-INT)
	Lengacher (2012)a	MBSR	↓post-INT (vs. pre-INT) at T2, T3 but not at T4
	Pinar (2015)b	Back massage	CGs (INT):↓T2 (vs. T1) CGs (control): (ns) T2 (vs. T1)
	Walsh (2007)a	Art-making class	(ns) post-INT (vs. pre-INT)
DHEA-S	Laudenslager (2015)a	PEPRR	(ns) post-INT (vs. pre-INT)
Endorphin	Fancourt (2016)a	Music intervention	↓post-INT (vs. pre-INT) in current CGs, bereaved CGs, patients
Oxytocin	Fancourt (2016)a	Music intervention	↓post-INT (vs. pre-INT) in current CGs, bereaved CGs, patients
Immune function
Cytokines	Fancourt (2016)a	Music intervention	GM-CSF, IFNγ, IL-2, IL-4, IL-6, IL-17, TNF-α: ↓post-INT (vs. pre-INT) in current CGs, bereaved CGs, patients
	Laudenslager (2015)a	PEPRR	IL-6: (ns) post-INT (vs. pre-INT)
	Lengacher (2012)b	MBSR	IL-6: ↓post-INT (vs. pre-INT) in CGs at T4 but inconsistent before and after MBSR session
CRP	Laudenslager (2015)a	PEPRR	(ns) post-INT (vs. pre-INT)
Neuropeptides	Fancourt (2016)a	Music intervention	β-endorphin, oxytocin:↓post-INT (vs. pre-INT) in current CGs, bereaved CGs, patients
NK cell	Goodfellow (2003)b	Therapeutic back massage	(ns) CGs (INT) (vs. control) (ns) T2, T3 (vs. T1)

Note. ↑ = increased; ↓ = decreased; (ns) = not significantly different; CAR = cortisol awakening response; CRP = C-reactive protein; DHEA-S = dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate; GM-CSF = granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor; IFNγ = interferon γ; IL = interleukin; INT = intervention; MBSR = mindfulness-based stress reduction program; NK = natural killer; PEPRR = PsychoEducation, Paced Respiration and Relaxation; TNF-α = tumor necrosis factor-α.

^aBiomarker of interest measured in saliva. ^bBiomarker of interest measured in serum.