Psychosocial Stress Impacts the Aging Process
By Richard Shank
A large body of research supports the hypothesis that psychosocial stress is an important driver of poor health outcomes. The literature outlining epidemiological research provides extensive evidence of increased rates of sickness and death for individuals who have poorer quality of social networks, lower socio-economic status, and prolonged periods of exposure to psychological stress. In response to these findings, researchers are only now starting to understand the role that psychosocial stress plays in the aging process.
Recent research demonstrates the ways in which psychosocial stress impacts the physical process of aging. Researchers in Europe and at the University of Wisconsin recently published separate studies examining the relationship between occupational stressors and physical health. (Occupational stress in these studies is defined as a job with a high imbalance of effort and reward.)
The researchers at the University of Wisconsin were interested in examining how feelings of discrimination produce negative biological changes because of the stress response associated with the experience. Using data from the “Mid-life in the United States” study, researchers discovered that men who perceived that they were passed over for promotion, denied a bank loan unfairly, or experienced other similar slights showed significantly elevated levels of damage in a particular type of blood vessel, a physical indicator of the onset of heart problems. Similar findings were not found for women.
A study conducted in Europe demonstrated an even stronger link between occupational stress and negative health. Over 500 factory workers participated in a study examined through blood analysis, measures of social support, and an inventory of work-related stressors whether these factors influence immune system capacity. The results indicate that high levels of job stress, when accompanied by low levels of social support at work, are significantly related to disrupted immune function.
The impact of stress on health and immunity is particularly important for older adults, as stress quickens the aging of the immune system and compounds its related health consequences. Social support has previously shown to mitigate the negative impact of this stress process: Therefore, promoting the use of friends, family, coworkers, and therapeutic resources to help manage stress at home, work, or otherwise is an important component of Aging Well.
Sources: Bosch, J. Fischer, J., Fischer, J. 2009. Psychological adverse work conditions are associated with CD8+ T cell differentiation indicative of immunesenescence. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity pg. 527-534. Friedman, E., Williams, D., Singer, B., Ryff, C. 2009. Chronic discrimination predicts higher circulating levels of E-selectin in a national sample: The MIDUS Study. Brain, Behavior, and Immunity (In Press).
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