Loneliness and stress-related inflammatory and neuroendocrine responses in older men and women

Hackett, Ruth A.; Hamer, Mark; Endrighi, Romano; Brydon, Lena; Steptoe, Andrew

doi:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2012.03.016

Cited by 205 publications

(171 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Although research on this topic is more sparse, studies have shown that older women higher in loneliness showed greater increases in IL-6 and IL-1Ra in response to a mental stressor (Hackett et al, 2012). Moreover, adults higher in loneliness showed increased stimulated cytokine production in response to a stress task (Jaremka et al, 2013).…”

Section: Social Disconnection Predicts Greater Inflammatory Respondinmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Sickness and in Health: The Co-Regulation of Inflammation and Social Behavior

Eisenberger

Moieni

Inagaki

et al. 2016

Neuropsychopharmacol

275

200

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Although it has commonly been assumed that the immune system and the processes that govern social behavior are separate, non-communicating entities, research over the past several decades suggests otherwise. Considerable evidence now shows that inflammatory processes and social behavior are actually powerful regulators of one another. This review first summarizes evidence that inflammatory processes regulate social behavior, leading to characteristic changes that may help an individual navigate the social environment during times of sickness. Specifically, this review shows that inflammation: (1) increases threatrelated neural sensitivity to negative social experiences (eg, rejection, negative social feedback), presumably to enhance sensitivity to threats to well-being or safety in order to avoid them and (2) enhances reward-related neural sensitivity to positive social experiences (eg, viewing close others and receiving positive social feedback), presumably to increase approach-related motivation towards others who might provide support and care during sickness. Next, this review summarizes evidence showing that social behavior also regulates aspects of inflammatory activity, preparing the body for situations in which wounding and infection may be more likely (social isolation). Here, we review research showing: (1) that exposure to social stressors increases proinflammatory activity, (2) that individuals who are more socially isolated (ie, lonely) show increased proinflammatory activity, and (3) that individuals who are more socially isolated show increased proinflammatory activity in response to an inflammatory challenge or social stressor. The implications of the co-regulation of inflammation and social behavior are discussed.

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Section: Social Disconnection Predicts Greater Inflammatory Respondinmentioning

confidence: 99%

In Sickness and in Health: The Co-Regulation of Inflammation and Social Behavior

Eisenberger

Moieni

Inagaki

et al. 2016

Neuropsychopharmacol

275

200

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show abstract

“…Mental stress was elicited using two previously described standardized tasks administered under time pressure that reliably perturbs the cardiovascular and immune system [22,23]. Briefly, in the mirror tracing task, participants were required to trace the narrow contour of a star using an electronic stylus while looking at the star's reflection in a mirror.…”

Section: Acute Mental Stressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Post-menopausal Women Exhibit Greater Interleukin-6 Responses to Mental Stress Than Older Men

2016

Self Cite

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Background Acute stress triggers innate immune responses and elevation in circulating cytokines including interleukin-6 (IL-6). The effect of sex on IL-6 responses remains unclear due to important limitations of previous studies. Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine sex differences in IL-6 responses to mental stress in a healthy, older (postmenopausal) sample accounting for several moderating factors. Methods Five hundred six participants (62.9 ± 5.60 years, 55 % male) underwent 10 min of mental stress consisting of mirror tracing and Stroop task. Blood was sampled at baseline, after stress, and 45 and 75 min post-stress, and assayed using a high sensitivity kit. IL-6 reactivity was computed as the mean difference between baseline and 45 min and between baseline and 75 min post-stress. Main effects and interactions were examined using ANCOVA models. Results There was a main effect of time for the IL-6 response (F 3,1512 = 201.57, p = <.0001) and a sex by time interaction (F 3,1512 = 17.07, p = <.001). In multivariate adjusted analyses, IL-6 reactivity was significantly greater in females at 45 min (M = 0.37 ± 0.04 vs. 0.20 ± 0.03 pg/mL, p = .01) and at 75 min (M = 0.57 ± 0.05 vs. 0.31 ± 0.05 pg/mL, p = .004) post-stress compared to males. Results were independent of age, adiposity, socioeconomic position, depression, smoking and alcohol consumption, physical activity, statin use, testing time, task appraisals, hormone replacement, and baseline IL-6. Other significant predictors of IL-6 reactivity were lower household wealth, afternoon testing, and baseline IL-6. Conclusions Healthy, post-menopausal females exhibit substantially greater IL-6 responses to acute stress. Inflammatory responses if sustained over time may have clinical implications for the development and maintenance of inflammatoryrelated conditions prevalent in older women.

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“…In one study, lonelier participants showed elevated stimulated pro-inflammatory cytokine production in the presence of acute laboratory stress (Jaremka et al 2013). In another study, loneliness was positively associated with IL-6 responses to acute laboratory psychological stress in an adjusted model that controlled for socioeconomic background and health behaviors among older women (Hackett et al 2012). Loneliness was also independently associated with elevated HbA1c levels, a bio-marker of metabolic dysregulation (O'Luanaigh et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathways from Ageism to Loneliness

Shiovitz-Ezra

Shemesh

McDonnell‐Naughton

2018

International Perspectives on Aging

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Loneliness and stress-related inflammatory and neuroendocrine responses in older men and women

Cited by 205 publications

References 61 publications

In Sickness and in Health: The Co-Regulation of Inflammation and Social Behavior

In Sickness and in Health: The Co-Regulation of Inflammation and Social Behavior

Post-menopausal Women Exhibit Greater Interleukin-6 Responses to Mental Stress Than Older Men

Pathways from Ageism to Loneliness

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