The fitted cross-lag panel model. Both autoregressive paths are significant; Estradiol (E2) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) at T1 are associated with E2 at T2 (β = 0.901, p = < 0.001) and TNFα at T2 (β = 0.602, p = < 0.001). Likewise, both cross-lag paths were statistically significant; E2 at T1 was associated with TNFα at T2 (β = 0.227, p = 0.002), and TNFα at T1 was associated with E2 and T2 (β = 0.236, p = 0.018). The significance of the cross-lag paths indicates a significant relationship between the variables over time. The covariance between E2 and TNFα at T1 was not significant (cov = 0.016, p = 0.814), but was significant at T2 (cov = 0.088, p = 0.029).