Paula V Nersesian1, Hae-Ra Han2, Gayane Yenokyan3, Roger S Blumenthal4, Marie T Nolan5, Melissa D Hladek6, Sarah L Szanton7. 1. Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Electronic address: pnersesian@jhu.edu. 2. Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Electronic address: hhan2@jhu.edu. 3. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Electronic address: gyenoky1@jhu.edu. 4. Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 733 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Electronic address: rblument@jhmi.edu. 5. Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Electronic address: mnolan3@jhu.edu. 6. Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Electronic address: mhladek1@jhu.edu. 7. Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, 525 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA; Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St., Baltimore, MD 21205, USA. Electronic address: sszanto1@jhu.edu.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Middle-aged adults who are lonely have an elevated likelihood of death. Systemic inflammation may contribute to these increased odds. Using population-level data, this study tested if systemic inflammation is associated with loneliness in a broad age range of middle-aged adults in the United States. METHODS: This study used data from the Midlife in the US (MIDUS) survey Biomarker Project, which collected data on psychological, social, and physiological measures from a sample of middle-aged adults. This sample included the 927 participants who were 35-64 years at Biomarker Project data collection. MIDUS collected baseline data from 1995-1996 and a follow-up survey was conducted from 2004-2006. The baseline Milwaukee sample of African Americans was collected in 2005-2006 and the biomarker database was collected in 2004-2009. Biomarkers were obtained from a fasting blood sample. Self-reported loneliness was categorized as feeling lonely or not feeling lonely. Hierarchical regressions examined the association between biomarkers of systemic inflammation (interleukin-6, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein) and feeling lonely, adjusted for covariates. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent of the sample reported feeling lonely most or some of the time. There was a positive significant relationship between loneliness and the three systemic inflammation biomarkers after controlling for covariates: interleukin-6 (n = 873) (b [se] = 0.07 [0.03], p = .014); fibrinogen (n = 867) (b [se] = 18.24 [7.12], p = .011); and C-reactive protein (n = 867) (b [se] = 0.08 [0.04], p = .035). CONCLUSIONS: Feeling lonely is associated with systemic inflammation in middle-aged community-dwelling US adults.
OBJECTIVE: Middle-aged adults who are lonely have an elevated likelihood of death. Systemic inflammation may contribute to these increased odds. Using population-level data, this study tested if systemic inflammation is associated with loneliness in a broad age range of middle-aged adults in the United States. METHODS: This study used data from the Midlife in the US (MIDUS) survey Biomarker Project, which collected data on psychological, social, and physiological measures from a sample of middle-aged adults. This sample included the 927 participants who were 35-64 years at Biomarker Project data collection. MIDUS collected baseline data from 1995-1996 and a follow-up survey was conducted from 2004-2006. The baseline Milwaukee sample of African Americans was collected in 2005-2006 and the biomarker database was collected in 2004-2009. Biomarkers were obtained from a fasting blood sample. Self-reported loneliness was categorized as feeling lonely or not feeling lonely. Hierarchical regressions examined the association between biomarkers of systemic inflammation (interleukin-6, fibrinogen, C-reactive protein) and feeling lonely, adjusted for covariates. RESULTS: Twenty-nine percent of the sample reported feeling lonely most or some of the time. There was a positive significant relationship between loneliness and the three systemic inflammation biomarkers after controlling for covariates: interleukin-6 (n = 873) (b [se] = 0.07 [0.03], p = .014); fibrinogen (n = 867) (b [se] = 18.24 [7.12], p = .011); and C-reactive protein (n = 867) (b [se] = 0.08 [0.04], p = .035). CONCLUSIONS: Feeling lonely is associated with systemic inflammation in middle-aged community-dwelling US adults.
Authors: Christopher L Coe; Gayle D Love; Mayumi Karasawa; Norito Kawakami; Shinobu Kitayama; Hazel R Markus; Russell P Tracy; Carol D Ryff Journal: Brain Behav Immun Date: 2010-11-26 Impact factor: 7.217
Authors: David L Roth; William E Haley; Orla C Sheehan; Jin Huang; J David Rhodes; Peter Durda; Virginia J Howard; Jeremy D Walston; Mary Cushman Journal: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A Date: 2020-06-24 Impact factor: 11.205
Authors: Ronald J Ellis; Jenny Iudicello; Ni Sun-Suslow; David Grelotti; Mariana Cherner; Erin Morgan; Scott L Letendre; Robert K Heaton Journal: J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr Date: 2021-04-15 Impact factor: 3.771