TY - JOUR
T1 - Hostility and pain are related to inflammation in older adults
AU - Graham, Jennifer E.
AU - Robles, Theodore F.
AU - Kiecolt-Glaser, Janice K.
AU - Malarkey, William B.
AU - Bissell, Michael G.
AU - Glaser, Ronald
N1 - Funding Information:
Work on this chapter was supported by NIH Training Grant T32AI55411, NIH Grants R37 MH42096 and PO1 AG11585, NIH General Clinical Research Center Grant M01-RR-0034, and Comprehensive Cancer Center Grant CA16058.
PY - 2006/7
Y1 - 2006/7
N2 - Chronically elevated systemic inflammation has a dramatic impact on health for older individuals. As stress-related responses, both hostility and pain perception may contribute to inflammation which in turn may maintain negative emotion and pain over time. We used structural equation modeling to examine the degree to which trait hostility and pain were uniquely associated with C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum IL-6 levels over a 6-year span in a sample of older adults. The sample included 113 present or former caregivers of a spouse with dementia and 101 non-caregivers. After accounting for depression, health behaviours, and other risk factors, which were also assessed longitudinally, pain and, to a lesser extent, hostility were uniquely associated with plasma levels of CRP but not IL-6. When examined separately, the association between pain and CRP was significant only for caregivers, while the association between hostility and CRP was comparable for the two groups. These findings suggest that hostility may play a role in a cycle of inflammation among older adults, and that pain may be particularly problematic for those under chronic stress. Our results also shed light on inflammation as a mechanism underlying the effects of hostility on cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality.
AB - Chronically elevated systemic inflammation has a dramatic impact on health for older individuals. As stress-related responses, both hostility and pain perception may contribute to inflammation which in turn may maintain negative emotion and pain over time. We used structural equation modeling to examine the degree to which trait hostility and pain were uniquely associated with C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum IL-6 levels over a 6-year span in a sample of older adults. The sample included 113 present or former caregivers of a spouse with dementia and 101 non-caregivers. After accounting for depression, health behaviours, and other risk factors, which were also assessed longitudinally, pain and, to a lesser extent, hostility were uniquely associated with plasma levels of CRP but not IL-6. When examined separately, the association between pain and CRP was significant only for caregivers, while the association between hostility and CRP was comparable for the two groups. These findings suggest that hostility may play a role in a cycle of inflammation among older adults, and that pain may be particularly problematic for those under chronic stress. Our results also shed light on inflammation as a mechanism underlying the effects of hostility on cardiovascular disease morbidity and mortality.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.bbi.2005.11.002
DO - 10.1016/j.bbi.2005.11.002
M3 - Article
C2 - 16376518
AN - SCOPUS:33646853674
SN - 0889-1591
VL - 20
SP - 389
EP - 400
JO - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
JF - Brain, Behavior, and Immunity
IS - 4
ER -
