IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v74y2012i12p1891-1899.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social relationships and inflammatory markers: An analysis of Taiwan and the U.S

Author

Listed:
  • Glei, Dana A.
  • Goldman, Noreen
  • Ryff, Carol D.
  • Lin, Yu-Hsuan
  • Weinstein, Maxine

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Glei, Dana A. & Goldman, Noreen & Ryff, Carol D. & Lin, Yu-Hsuan & Weinstein, Maxine, 2012. "Social relationships and inflammatory markers: An analysis of Taiwan and the U.S," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(12), pages 1891-1899.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:74:y:2012:i:12:p:1891-1899
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.02.020
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953612001943
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.02.020?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Julianne Holt-Lunstad & Timothy B Smith & J Bradley Layton, 2010. "Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-analytic Review," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(7), pages 1-1, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Ng, Ted Kheng Siang & Gan, Daniel R.Y. & Mahendran, Rathi & Kua, Ee Heok & Ho, Roger C-M, 2021. "Social connectedness as a mediator for horticultural therapy's biological effect on community-dwelling older adults: Secondary analyses of a randomized controlled trial," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    2. Nobuaki Moriyama & Tomomi Kuga & Tetsuzo Oshima & Kumiko Sato & Miho Kurita & Seiji Yasumura, 2023. "Association between Tai Chi Yuttari Exercise and Longevity and Prevention of Long-Term Care Need: Survival Analysis in Kitakata City, Japan," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-11, February.
    3. Torres, Jacqueline M. & Epel, Elissa S. & To, Tu My & Lee, Anne & Aiello, Allison E. & Haan, Mary N., 2018. "Cross-border ties, nativity, and inflammatory markers in a population-based prospective study of Latino adults," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 21-30.
    4. Benjamin Kaveladze & Allison Diamond Altman & Meike Niederhausen & Jennifer M Loftis & Alan R Teo, 2022. "Social relationship quality, depression and inflammation: A cross-cultural longitudinal study in the United States and Tokyo, Japan," International Journal of Social Psychiatry, , vol. 68(2), pages 253-263, March.
    5. Charlotte Juul Nilsson & Signe Nørgaard & Else Foverskov & Helle Bruunsgaard & Per Kragh Andersen & Rikke Lund, 2020. "Positive and negative aspects of social relations and low-grade inflammation in Copenhagen Aging and Midlife Biobank," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 17(4), pages 531-546, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Maria Alzira Pimenta Dinis & Helder Fernando Pedrosa Sousa & Andreia de Moura & Lilian M. F. Viterbo & Ricardo J. Pinto, 2019. "Health Behaviors as a Mediator of the Association Between Interpersonal Relationships and Physical Health in a Workplace Context," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-9, July.
    2. Santini, Ziggi Ivan & Jose, Paul E. & Koyanagi, Ai & Meilstrup, Charlotte & Nielsen, Line & Madsen, Katrine R. & Koushede, Vibeke, 2020. "Formal social participation protects physical health through enhanced mental health: A longitudinal mediation analysis using three consecutive waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in E," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    3. Fernando L Vázquez & Patricia Otero & J Antonio García-Casal & Vanessa Blanco & Ángela J Torres & Manuel Arrojo, 2018. "Efficacy of video game-based interventions for active aging. A systematic literature review and meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-24, December.
    4. Regina Kuppen & Mirjam de Leede & Jolanda Lindenberg & David van Bodegom, 2023. "Collective Prevention of Non-Communicable Diseases in an Ageing Population with Community Care," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-14, February.
    5. Joanne Brooke & Maria Clark, 2020. "Older people’s early experience of household isolation and social distancing during COVID‐19," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 29(21-22), pages 4387-4402, November.
    6. Clément Meier & Jürgen Maurer, 2022. "Buddy or burden? Patterns, perceptions, and experiences of pet ownership among older adults in Switzerland," European Journal of Ageing, Springer, vol. 19(4), pages 1201-1212, December.
    7. Jintao Li & Yan Dai & Cynthia Changxin Wang & Jun Sun, 2022. "Assessment of Environmental Demands of Age-Friendly Communities from Perspectives of Different Residential Groups: A Case of Wuhan, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-20, July.
    8. Nakagomi, Atsushi & Tsuji, Taishi & Saito, Masashige & Ide, Kazushige & Kondo, Katsunori & Shiba, Koichiro, 2023. "Social isolation and subsequent health and well-being in older adults: A longitudinal outcome-wide analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
    9. Haywantee Ramkissoon, 2021. "Social Bonding and Public Trust/Distrust in COVID-19 Vaccines," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-6, September.
    10. Paulette M. Yamada & Joe Priest, 2022. "Utilizing a Team Kinesiology Model to Support Rehabilitative Care in Patients," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-13, February.
    11. Alexander Langenkamp, 2021. "Lonely Hearts, Empty Booths? The Relationship between Loneliness, Reported Voting Behavior and Voting as Civic Duty," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(4), pages 1239-1254, July.
    12. Escarce, José J. & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2018. "Immigration and the Health of Older Natives in Western Europe," GLO Discussion Paper Series 228, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    13. Timothy B Smith & Connor Workman & Caleb Andrews & Bonnie Barton & Matthew Cook & Ryan Layton & Alexandra Morrey & Devin Petersen & Julianne Holt-Lunstad, 2021. "Effects of psychosocial support interventions on survival in inpatient and outpatient healthcare settings: A meta-analysis of 106 randomized controlled trials," PLOS Medicine, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(5), pages 1-25, May.
    14. Zilun Xiao & Yufang Zhao & Yingcan Zheng & Yan Bao & Chao Zhang, 2022. "The Effect of Group Identification on Death Anxiety: The Chain Mediation Role of Close Relationships and Self-Esteem," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-9, August.
    15. Escarce, José J. & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2021. "Effect of immigration on depression among older natives in Western Europe," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    16. Cristina Liébana-Presa & Elena Andina-Díaz & María-Mercedes Reguera-García & Iván Fulgueiras-Carril & David Bermejo-Martínez & Elena Fernández-Martínez, 2018. "Social Network Analysis and Resilience in University Students: An Approach from Cohesiveness," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-13, September.
    17. Sinha, Kompal & Davillas, Apostolos & Jones, Andrew M. & Sharma, Anurag, 2021. "Do socioeconomic health gradients persist over time and beyond income? A distributional analysis using UK biomarker data," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    18. Rosenberg, Rachel, 2019. "Social networks of youth transitioning from foster care to adulthood," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    19. Satoru Kanamori & Yuko Kai & Jun Aida & Katsunori Kondo & Ichiro Kawachi & Hiroshi Hirai & Kokoro Shirai & Yoshiki Ishikawa & Kayo Suzuki & The JAGES Group, 2014. "Social Participation and the Prevention of Functional Disability in Older Japanese: The JAGES Cohort Study," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(6), pages 1-10, June.
    20. Xiang Kang & Mingxi Du & Siqin Wang & Haifeng Du, 2022. "Exploring the Effect of Health on Migrants’ Social Integration in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-20, April.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:74:y:2012:i:12:p:1891-1899. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.