TY - JOUR
T1 - Social relationships and inflammatory markers
T2 - An analysis of Taiwan and the U.S.
AU - Glei, Dana A.
AU - Goldman, Noreen
AU - Ryff, Carol D.
AU - Lin, Yu Hsuan
AU - Weinstein, Maxine
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for the TLSA came from the Taiwan Department of Health, the Taiwan National Health Research Institute [grant number DD01-86IX-GR601S ], and the Taiwan Provincial Government. SEBAS was funded by the Demography and Epidemiology Unit of the Behavioral and Social Research Program of the National Institute on Aging [grant numbers R01 AG16790, R01 AG16661]. The Bureau of Health Promotion (Department of Health, Taiwan) provided additional financial support for SEBAS 2000.
Funding Information:
The original MIDUS study was supported by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife Development . The MIDUS longitudinal follow-up was supported by the National Institute on Aging [grant number P01-AG020166]. The specimen collection was also facilitated by the General Clinical Research Centers Program [grant numbers M01-RR023942 to Georgetown University; M01-RR00865 to UCLA] and by the Clinical and Translational Science Award program of the National Center for Research Resources, National Institutes of Health [grant number 1UL1RR025011 to University of Wisconsin-Madison].
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging (grant numbers R01 AG16790 , R01 AG16661 , P01-AG020166 ); and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (grant number R24HD047879 ).
PY - 2012/6
Y1 - 2012/6
N2 - We evaluated the association between two aspects of social relationships and six inflammatory markers in Taiwan and the U.S. These two countries share similar levels of current life expectancy, but exhibit important differences in social structure. The data comprised population based samples from Taiwan (aged 53+; n= 962) and the U.S. (aged 35-86; n= 990) collected between 2003 and 2009. Circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, and soluble forms of intercellular adhesion molecule 1, E-selectin, and IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) were measured in fasting blood samples. A social integration score was based on marital status, contact with family and friends, church attendance, and other social participation. A perceived social support index was based on questions regarding the availability of care and support from family and friends. Linear regression models tested the association between these two measures and each inflammatory marker controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, obesity, medication use, and baseline health status. After adjusting for potential confounders, social integration had a significant but weak inverse association with CRP in Taiwan. Perceived social support was significant in two of 12 models, and the coefficient was positive (i.e., higher support was associated with higher CRP and sIL-6R in the U.S.). We found no evidence that the coefficients for social relationship measures varied by sex or age. Our results yielded limited evidence of a weak association between two dimensions of social relationships and six inflammatory markers in Taiwan and the U.S. Given that the literature suggests a strong link between social relationships and mortality, and that inflammation plays an important role in the leading causes of death, we had expected to find consistent and moderately strong associations between social relationships and inflammatory markers. The small effect sizes and lack of robustness across markers were surprising.
AB - We evaluated the association between two aspects of social relationships and six inflammatory markers in Taiwan and the U.S. These two countries share similar levels of current life expectancy, but exhibit important differences in social structure. The data comprised population based samples from Taiwan (aged 53+; n= 962) and the U.S. (aged 35-86; n= 990) collected between 2003 and 2009. Circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, and soluble forms of intercellular adhesion molecule 1, E-selectin, and IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R) were measured in fasting blood samples. A social integration score was based on marital status, contact with family and friends, church attendance, and other social participation. A perceived social support index was based on questions regarding the availability of care and support from family and friends. Linear regression models tested the association between these two measures and each inflammatory marker controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, obesity, medication use, and baseline health status. After adjusting for potential confounders, social integration had a significant but weak inverse association with CRP in Taiwan. Perceived social support was significant in two of 12 models, and the coefficient was positive (i.e., higher support was associated with higher CRP and sIL-6R in the U.S.). We found no evidence that the coefficients for social relationship measures varied by sex or age. Our results yielded limited evidence of a weak association between two dimensions of social relationships and six inflammatory markers in Taiwan and the U.S. Given that the literature suggests a strong link between social relationships and mortality, and that inflammation plays an important role in the leading causes of death, we had expected to find consistent and moderately strong associations between social relationships and inflammatory markers. The small effect sizes and lack of robustness across markers were surprising.
KW - Inflammation markers
KW - Social relationships
KW - Social support
KW - Taiwan
KW - USA
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84860484444&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84860484444&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.02.020
DO - 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.02.020
M3 - Article
C2 - 22483707
AN - SCOPUS:84860484444
SN - 0277-9536
VL - 74
SP - 1891
EP - 1899
JO - Social Science and Medicine
JF - Social Science and Medicine
IS - 12
ER -