Psychological resources are independently associated with markers of inflammation in a middle-aged community sample
Open accessAbstract
PURPOSE: To elucidate possible independent associations of psychological resources with inflammatory markers, all linked with coronary heart disease (CHD). METHOD: In a middle-aged general population (n = 944), psychological resources (coping, self-esteem, and sense of coherence (SOC)), a global measure of quality of life (Cantril's self-anchoring ladder, also called "ladder of life"), and psychological risk factors (hopelessness, vital exhaustion, and depressive symptoms) were used in linear regression models to evaluate associations with the inflammatory markers interleukin (IL)-6, C-reactive protein (CRP), and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9. Adjustments were done for age, sex, medical conditions, and cardiovascular risk factors. RESULTS: After full adjustments, self-esteem was independently associated with all three biomarkers. Ladder of life was associated with IL-6 and log-CRP; coping, vital exhaustion, and depressive symptoms with IL-6; and SOC with MMP-9 (p < 0.05 for all associations). CONCLUSION: Numerous significant associations of psychological resources and risk factors with IL-6, CRP, and MMP-9 were found in a community-based sample. The associations of psychological resources were mostly independent, while the psychological risk factors seemed preferentially dependent on lifestyle factors as smoking, physical activity, and body mass index (BMI). This suggests that the psychological resources' (in particular self-esteem) protective effects on CHD are linked to inflammatory markers.
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Recent work found a negative association between a construct that includes self-esteem, psychological resources (e.g., optimism, mastery, self-esteem) and various inflammatory markers.
“This is consistent with some recent work that found a negative association between a construct that includes self-esteem, psychological resources (e.g., optimism, mastery, self-esteem) and various inflammatory markers (e.g., Marteinsdottir et al., 2016; Stokes, 2020).”
From Social media use and systemic inflammation: The moderating role of self-esteem (2021) · cites this paper as Marteinsdottir et al., 2016
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Cites
The CES-D Scale: A Self-Report Depression Scale for Research in the General Population
Radloff, L. S. (1977) · Applied Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/014662167700100306 · Cited by 53,267 · see citing works
Pearlin, L. I., & Schooler, C. (1978) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2136319 · Cited by 7,791 · cited 3× · see citing works
“Coping captures feelings of confidence and self-reliance with an experience that life to some extent is manageable and was measured with Pearlin and Schooler’s seven-item questionnaire [30].”
BackgroundMethodPearlin, L. I., & Schooler, C. (1978) · PubMed · Cited by 6,764 · see citing works
Unraveling the Mystery of Health: How People Manage Stress and Stay Well
Antonovsky, A. (2002) · SAGE Publications Ltd eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781446221129.n9 · Cited by 5,525 · see citing works
Psychological Stress and Disease
Cohen, S., Janicki-Deverts, D., & Miller, G. E. (2007) · JAMA · doi:10.1001/jama.298.14.1685 · Cited by 3,168 · see citing works
Cytokines sing the blues: inflammation and the pathogenesis of depression
Raison, C. L., Capuron, L., & Miller, A. H. (2006) · Trends in Immunology · doi:10.1016/j.it.2005.11.006 · Cited by 3,009 · see citing works
Associations of depression with C-reactive protein, IL-1, and IL-6: a meta-analysis.
Howren, M. B., Lamkin, D. M., & Suls, J. (2009) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e3181907c1b · Cited by 2,766 · see citing works
Galis, Z. S., Sukhova, G. K., Lark, M. W., & Libby, P. (1994) · Journal of Clinical Investigation · doi:10.1172/jci117619 · Cited by 2,537 · see citing works
Rosengren, A., Hawken, S., Ôunpuu, S., Sliwa, K., Zubaid, M., Almahmeed, W. A., Blackett, K. N., Sitthi-amorn, C., Sato, H., & Yusuf, S. (2004) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(04)17019-0 · Cited by 2,414 · see citing works
Inflammation in Atherosclerosis
Libby, P., Ridker, P. M., & Hansson, G. K. (2009) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2009.09.009 · Cited by 2,228 · see citing works
Cantril, H. (1965) · Cited by 2,003 · see citing works
Zubaida, S. D., & Cantril, H. (1967) · The British Journal of Sociology · doi:10.2307/588624 · Cited by 1,496 · cited 1× · see citing works
“In addition, Cantril’s measure of global quality of life (ladder of life) was used as a measure of life satisfaction and positive outlook [33].”
MethodHemingway, H., & Marmot, M. G. (1999) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.318.7196.1460 · Cited by 1,342 · see citing works
Depression as a Risk Factor for Coronary Artery Disease: Evidence, Mechanisms, and Treatment
Lett, H. S., Blumenthal, J. A., Babyak, M. A., Sherwood, A., Strauman, T., Robins, C., & Newman, M. F. (2004) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/01.psy.0000126207.43307.c0 · Cited by 849 · see citing works
Blankenberg, S., Rupprecht, H. J., Poirier, O., Bickel, C., Smieja, M., Hafner, G., Meyer, J., Cambien, F., & Tiret, L. (2003) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/01.cir.0000058700.41738.12 · Cited by 755 · see citing works
C-Reactive Protein and the Prediction of Cardiovascular Events Among Those at Intermediate Risk
Ridker, P. M. (2007) · Journal of the American College of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2007.02.052 · Cited by 619 · see citing works
Hopelessness and Risk of Mortality and Incidence of Myocardial Infarction and Cancer
Everson‐Rose, S. A., Goldberg, D. E., Kaplan, G. A., Cohen, R. D., Pukkala, ., Tuomilehto, J., & Salonen, J. T. (1996) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/00006842-199603000-00003 · Cited by 591 · see citing works
Unraveling the Mystery of Health: How People Manage Stress and Stay Well
Chaiklin, H. (1989) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/00005053-198907000-00014 · Cited by 583 · see citing works
Positive Affect and Psychobiological Processes Relevant to Health
Steptoe, A., Dockray, S., & Wardle, J. (2009) · Journal of Personality · doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2009.00599.x · Cited by 520 · see citing works
Elevated C-Reactive Protein Levels, Psychological Distress, and Depression in 73 131 Individuals
Wium-Andersen, M. K., Ørsted, D. D., Nielsen, S. F., & Nordestgaard, B. G. (2013) · JAMA Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/2013.jamapsychiatry.102 · Cited by 489 · see citing works
Excess fatigue as a precursor of myocardial infarction
Appels, A., & Mulder, P. G. H. (1988) · European Heart Journal · doi:10.1093/eurheartj/9.7.758 · Cited by 430 · see citing works
A questionnaire to assess premonitory symptoms of myocardial infarction
Appels, A., Höppener, P., & Mulder, P. G. H. (1987) · International Journal of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/0167-5273(87)90029-5 · Cited by 389 · see citing works
Khani, B. R., Wolk, A., Ye, W., & Terry, P. (2004) · Journal of Nutrition · doi:10.1093/jn/134.6.1541 · Cited by 268 · see citing works
Kubzansky, L. D., & Thurston, R. C. (2007) · Archives of General Psychiatry · doi:10.1001/archpsyc.64.12.1393 · Cited by 252 · see citing works
Steptoe, A., O’Donnell, K., Badrick, E., Meena Kumari, B., & Marmot, M. G. (2007) · American Journal of Epidemiology · doi:10.1093/aje/kwm252 · Cited by 249 · see citing works
The association between self-esteem and anxiety
Rosenberg, M. (1962) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/0022-3956(62)90004-3 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
Kallings, L., Leijon, M. E., Hellénius, M.-L., & Ståhle, A. (2007) · Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports · doi:10.1111/j.1600-0838.2007.00678.x · Cited by 199 · see citing works
Roy, B., Diez-Roux, A. V., Seeman, T., Ranjit, N., Shea, S., & Cushman, M. (2010) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e3181cb981b · Cited by 187 · see citing works
Psychological and social factors in coronary heart disease
Albus, C. (2010) · Annals of Medicine · doi:10.3109/07853890.2010.515605 · Cited by 167 · see citing works
Positive psychological attributes and cardiac outcomes: associations, mechanisms, and interventions
DuBois, C. M., Beach, S. R., Kashdan, T. B., Nyer, M. B., Park, E. R., Celano, C. M., & Huffman, J. C. (2012) · Psychosomatics · doi:10.1016/j.psym.2012.04.004 · Cited by 152 · see citing works
Sjögren, E., Leanderson, P., Kristenson, M., & Ernerudh, J. (2006) · Brain, behavior, and immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2005.08.001 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
Self-citationGerlach, R. F., Demacq, C., Jung, K., & Tanus-Santos, J. E. (2006) · Clinical Biochemistry · doi:10.1016/j.clinbiochem.2006.10.007 · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Dispositional Optimism and the Risk of Cardiovascular Death: The Zutphen Elderly Study
Giltay, E. J. (2006) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/.431 · Cited by 132 · see citing works
Surtees, P. G., Wainwright, N. W. J., Luben, R., Khaw, K.-T., & Day, N. E. (2006) · Health Psychology · doi:10.1037/0278-6133.25.1.102 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Molecular and cellular interface between behavior and acute coronary syndromes
Gidron, Y. (2002) · Cardiovascular Research · doi:10.1016/s0008-6363(02)00537-0 · Cited by 107 · see citing works
Perceived Level of Life Enjoyment and Risks of Cardiovascular Disease Incidence and Mortality
Shirai, K., Iso, H., Ohira, T., Ikeda, A., Noda, H., Honjo, K., Inoue, M., & Tsugane, S. (2009) · Circulation · doi:10.1161/circulationaha.108.834176 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Ikeda, A., Schwartz, J., Peters, J. L., Fang, S., Spiro, A., Sparrow, D., Vokonas, P., & Kubzansky, L. D. (2011) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e3182312497 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
The Impact of Depression in Heart Disease
Sher, Y., Lolak, S., & Maldonado, J. (2010) · Current Psychiatry Reports · doi:10.1007/s11920-010-0116-8 · Cited by 91 · see citing works
Do Psychological Factors Affect Inflammation and Incident Coronary Heart Disease
Nabi, H., Singh‐Manoux, A., Shipley, M. J., Gimeno, D., Marmot, M. G., & Mika Kivimaki, B. (2008) · Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology · doi:10.1161/atvbaha.108.167239 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Hollman, G., & Kristenson, M. (2007) · European Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.ejcnurse.2007.05.003 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Self-citationInflammation, C-Reactive Protein, and Cardiovascular Disease
Ridker, P. M. (2014) · Circulation Research · doi:10.1161/circresaha.114.303215 · Cited by 61 · see citing works
Openness and conscientiousness predict 34-SSweek patterns of Interleukin-6 in older persons
Chapman, B. P., van Wijngaarden, E., Seplaki, C. L., Talbot, N., Duberstein, P., & Moynihan, J. (2011) · Brain, Behavior, and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2011.01.003 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Garvin, P., Nilsson, L., Carstensen, J. M., Jonasson, L., & Kristenson, M. (2009) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0b013e3181960e7f · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Self-citationLundgren, O., Garvin, P., Jonasson, L., Andersson, G., & Kristenson, M. (2014) · International Journal of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/s12529-014-9387-5 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Self-citationDispositional Optimism and the Risk of Cardiovascular Death
Giltay, E. J., Kamphuis, M. H., Kalmijn, S., Zitman, F. G., & Kromhout, D. (2006) · Archives of Internal Medicine · doi:10.1001/archinte.166.4.431 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Psychological Stress, Inflammation, and Coronary Heart Disease
Wirtz, P. H., & von Känel, R. (2017) · Current Cardiology Reports · doi:10.1007/s11886-017-0919-x · Cited by 556 · see citing works
Thomas, K., Nilsson, E., Festin, K., Henriksson, P., Lowén, M., Löf, M., & Kristenson, M. (2020) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph17041239 · Cited by 117 · see citing works
Self-citationde Vries, L. P., van de Weijer, M. P., & Bartels, M. (2022) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104733 · Cited by 81 · see citing works
Adelantado‐Renau, M., Esteban‐Cornejo, I., Rodríguez‐Ayllón, M., Cadenas‐Sánchez, C., Gil-Cosano, J. J., Mora-González, J., Solis‐Urra, P., Verdejo‐Román, J., Aguilera, C. M., Escolano-Margarit, M. V., et al. (2019) · Brain Behavior and Immunity · doi:10.1016/j.bbi.2019.07.020 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Usefulness of Certain Protein Biomarkers for Prediction of Coronary Heart Disease
Ong, K. L., Chung, R. W. S., Hui, N., Festin, K., Lundberg, A. K., Rye, K., Jonasson, L., & Kristenson, M. (2019) · The American Journal of Cardiology · doi:10.1016/j.amjcard.2019.11.016 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Self-citationCardiovascular disease and meaning in life: A systematic literature review and conceptual model
Vos, J. (2021) · Palliative & Supportive Care · doi:10.1017/s1478951520001261 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Social media use and systemic inflammation: The moderating role of self-esteem
Lee, D. S., & Way, B. M. (2021) · Brain, Behavior, & Immunity - Health · doi:10.1016/j.bbih.2021.100300 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
“This is consistent with some recent work that found a negative association between a construct that includes self-esteem, psychological resources (e.g., optimism, mastery, self-esteem) and various inflammatory markers (e.g., Marteinsdottir et al., 2016; Stokes, 2020).”
ResultOkely, J. A., Weiß, A., & Galé, C. R. (2017) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000000480 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
Orwelius, L., Kristenson, M., Fredrikson, M. G., Walther, S., & Sjöberg, F. (2017) · Journal of Critical Care · doi:10.1016/j.jcrc.2017.04.044 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Self-citationMeasuring psychosocial factors in health surveys using fewer items
Nilsson, E., Garvin, P., Festin, K., Wenemark, M., & Kristenson, M. (2020) · Health Psychology Open · doi:10.1177/2055102920975983 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
Self-citationLow-grade systemic inflammation and the workplace
Viljoen, M., & Thomas, B. L. (2021) · Work · doi:10.3233/wor-213523 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Dyball, D. M., Bennett, A. N., Schofield, S. J., Cullinan, P., Boos, C. J., Bull, A. M., Stevelink, S. A. M., & Fear, N. T. (2024) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/13591053241240196 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Depression and Inflammation in Women With Breast Cancer: Risk and Resilience Factors
Korecki, J. R., Slavich, G. M., Ganz, P. A., Irwin, M. R., Cole, S. W., Crespi, C. M., & Bower, J. E. (2025) · Psychosomatic Medicine · doi:10.1097/psy.0000000000001398 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Exercise and psychoneuroimmunology
Kohut, M. L. (2019) · Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.06.002 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Introduction to Psychoneuroimmunology and Diseases
Yazdanpanah, N., & Rezaei, N. (2024) · Integrated science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-72079-6_1 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Lundgren, O., Garvin, P., Andersson, G., Jonasson, L., & Kristenson, M. (2018) · Health Psychology Open · doi:10.1177/2055102918755045 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Self-citationPsychoneuroimmunology of Cardiovascular Diseases
Yan, Q. (2016) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-45111-4_10
The Inflammatory Cascade Through Discrimination, Socio-economic Status, and Body-Mass IndexPreprint
Espero, M. J. (2026) · medRxiv · doi:10.64898/2026.06.24.26356254
- Authors
- Marteinsdottir, I., Ernerudh, J., Jonasson, L., Kristenson, M., & Garvin, P.
- Affiliations
- Linköping University (SE)
- Venue
- International Journal of Behavioral Medicine
- Published
- 2016-03-15
- Volume
- 23
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 611-620
- ISSN
- 1070-5503 (ISSN-L)
- 1532-7558
- PMC
- PMC5031719
- OpenAlex
- W2317555441
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 43
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 4.97
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- KTH Publication Database DiVA (KTH Royal Institute of Technology) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Funders
- Vetenskapsrådet (SE) (2004-1881)
- Hjärt-Lungfonden (SE) (2004053)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health, psychology, and well-being
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine › Cardiac Health and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Keywords
- psychological resources, inflammatory markers, coronary artery disease, self-esteem, coping, sense of coherence, interleukin-6, C-reactive protein, MMP-9, hopelessness, vital exhaustion, depressive symptoms, quality of life, middle-aged adults, lifestyle factors
- MeSH terms
- Adaptation, Psychological, Aged, C-Reactive Protein, Cardiovascular Diseases, Coronary Artery Disease, Depression, Female, Humans, Inflammation, Life Style, Male, Middle Aged, Quality of Life, Risk Factors, Self Concept, Biomarkers, Interleukin-6, Sense of Coherence
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
