Early-life stress, depressive symptoms, and inflammation: the role of social factors

Abstract

Objective

To identify modifiable, social factors that moderate the relationship between early-life stress (ELS) and health outcomes as measured by depressive symptoms and inflammation.

Methods

Data were from 3,416 adults (58.28% female), ages 36 - 97 (M_age = 68.41; SD_age = 10.24) who participated in the 2006 wave of the Health and Retirement Study, a nationally representative sample of older adults in the United States. This study used hierarchical regression analyses to first test the main effects of ELS on depressive symptoms and inflammation (high-sensitivity C-reactive protein). Four social factors (perceived support, frequency of social contact, network size, and volunteer activity) were assessed as moderators of the ELS-depression and ELS-inflammation relationships.

Results

There was a small, positive association between ELS and depressive symptoms (B = 0.17, SE = 0.05, p = .002), which was moderated by social contact and perceived support. Specifically, ELS was only associated with elevated depressive symptoms for participants with limited social contact (B = 0.24, SE = 0.07, p < .001) and low perceived support (B = 0.24, SE = 0.07, p < .001). These associations remained after accounting for potential confounds (age, body-mass index, adulthood stress, and marital status).

Conclusions

Increased social contact and perceived support may be protective for individuals at a higher risk of developing depressive symptoms as a result of ELS. Future interventions may benefit from leveraging these social factors to improve quality of life in adults with ELS.

Keywords:

• Aging
• stress
• depression
• inflammation
• social factors

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Health and Retirement Study, which is conducted by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, with grants from the National Institute on Aging (U01AG09740) and the Social Security Administration.

Disclosure statement

Eric S. Kim has worked as a consultant with AARP and UnitedHealth Group.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study and more information about the Health and Retirement Study can be found at: https://hrs.isr.umich.edu/about.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (grant: K08MH112773) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (Undergraduate Research Center – Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences). We would like to acknowledge and thank the Health and Retirement Study, which is conducted by the Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan, with grants from the National Institute on Aging (U01AG09740) and the Social Security Administration.