Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Place, London, WC1E 6BT, United Kingdom.
Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2018 Oct;96:100-108. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.06.008. Epub 2018 Jun 12.
While positive social support is associated with lower prevalence of disease and better treatment outcomes, negative social relationships can instead have unfavourable consequences for several physical and mental health conditions. However, the specific mechanisms by which this nexus might operate remain poorly understood. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis hyperactivity owing to psychosocial stress has been proposed as a potential pathway underlying the link between social support and health. Hair glucocorticoids such as cortisol and cortisone are emerging as promising biomarkers of long-term retrospective HPA activation. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to examine the effects of positive and negative experiences of social support within key relationships (i.e. spouse/partner, children, other family members, and friends) on cortisol and cortisone.
These associations were tested in a sample of 2520 older adults (mean age 68.1) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Hair samples were collected in wave 6 (2012/13). To understand the impact of cumulative exposure to poor social support, the analysis used self-reported data from waves 4 (2008/09) and 6. Covariates included demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle, and hair characteristics.
In cross sectional analyses, lower positive support from all sources and specifically from children were associated with higher cortisol. Additionally, lower positive support from children was positively associated with cortisone. Similarly, higher overall negative support was related to higher cortisol, and greater negative support from children was also positively associated with cortisone. In longitudinal analyses, there was evidence for positive associations between hair glucocorticoids and cumulative exposure to poorer social support.
Experiences of low positive and high negative social support, particularly from children, were both related to higher hair glucocorticoids. Hence, social relationships of poorer quality in later life may have adverse effects on the HPA axis thereby increasing the individual's susceptibility to poor health.
积极的社会支持与较低的疾病患病率和更好的治疗效果有关，而消极的社会关系可能对多种身心健康状况产生不利影响。然而，这种关系的具体机制仍知之甚少。由于心理社会压力，下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴的过度活跃被认为是社会支持与健康之间联系的潜在途径。头发中的糖皮质激素，如皮质醇和可的松，作为长期回顾性 HPA 激活的潜在生物标志物而出现。因此，本研究旨在探讨主要关系（即配偶/伴侣、子女、其他家庭成员和朋友）中积极和消极的社会支持体验对皮质醇和可的松的影响。
这项研究使用来自英国老龄化纵向研究的 2520 名老年人（平均年龄 68.1 岁）的样本进行。头发样本于第六波（2012/13 年）收集。为了了解累积暴露于不良社会支持的影响，分析使用了来自第四波（2008/09 年）和第六波的自我报告数据。协变量包括人口统计学、社会经济、生活方式和头发特征。
在横断面分析中，来自所有来源的较低的积极支持，特别是来自孩子的支持，与较高的皮质醇水平相关。此外，来自孩子的较低的积极支持与可的松呈正相关。同样，较高的总体负向支持与较高的皮质醇相关，而来自孩子的更多的负向支持也与可的松呈正相关。在纵向分析中，有证据表明头发糖皮质激素与较差的社会支持的累积暴露之间存在正相关。
较低的积极支持和较高的消极支持，特别是来自孩子的支持，都与较高的头发糖皮质激素有关。因此，晚年较差的社会关系可能对 HPA 轴产生不利影响，从而增加个体健康状况不佳的易感性。
