Social isolation in childhood and adult inflammation: evidence from the National Child Development Study
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: Social isolation is known to be associated with poorer health amongst adults, including coronary heart disease. It is hypothesized that this association may be mediated by inflammation. There has been little prospective research on the long-term impact of social isolation in childhood on adult health or the pathways which might be involved. The aim of this study was to investigate whether social isolation in childhood is associated with increased adult inflammation and the mechanisms involved across the life course. METHODS: This study used multiply-imputed data on 7462 participants of the National Child Development Study in Great Britain. The association between child social isolation (7-11 yrs) and levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in middle age (44 yrs) was examined. We additionally investigated the role of adult social isolation, psychological distress, health behaviors and socioeconomic factors as potential mediators using path analysis and concurrent measurements made across the life course. RESULTS: Socially isolated children had higher levels of C-reactive protein in mid-life (standardized coefficient=0.05, p≤0.001). In addition, children who were socially isolated tended to have lower subsequent educational attainment, be in a less advantaged social class in adulthood, were more likely to be psychologically distressed across adulthood and were more likely to be obese and to smoke. All of these factors partially explained the association between childhood social isolation and CRP. However, this association remained statistically significant after considering all mediators simultaneously. CONCLUSIONS: Social isolation in childhood is associated with higher levels of C-reactive protein in mid-life. This is explained in part through complex mechanisms acting across the life course. Identification and interventions targeted toward socially isolated children may help reduce long-term adult health risk.
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The study used measures of social isolation that capture low embeddedness within age-appropriate social networks, consistent with prior research that conceptualizes childhood isolation in terms of peer relationships.
“We used measures of social isolation that capture low embeddedness within age-appropriate social networks, which is consistent with prior research that conceptualizes childhood isolation in terms of peer relationships (e.g., Lacey et al., 2014;Matthews et al., 2016;Morneau-Vaillancourt et al., 2023;Thompson et al., 2023).”
From Investigating the interplay of loneliness and social isolation across adolescence: Findings from a nationally representative longitudinal study (2026) · cites this paper as Lacey et al., 2014
Chronic social isolation in multiple periods of development (childhood, adolescence, adulthood) has a cumulative relationship with incidence of high BMI, smoking, and alcoholism in adults (RR 2.58; 95%CI 1.46-4.56).
“the study by Lacey et al. 21 showed that chronic social isolation, in multiple periods of development (in childhood, adolescence, and adulthood), has a cumulative relationship in the incidence of high body mass index (BMI), smoking, and alcoholism in adults (RR 2.58; 95%CI 1.46–4.56).”
From Social isolation and its impact on child and adolescent development: a systematic review (2022) · cites this paper as [21]
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References 60 · Cited by 99
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Shepherd, P., 2012. 1958 National Child Development Study Ethical Review and Consent, London.
- Authors
- Lacey, R. E., Kumari, M., & Bartley, M.
- Affiliations
- University College London (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Lacey, Rebecca E.
- Venue
- Psychoneuroendocrinology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2014-12
- Volume
- 50
- Pages
- 85-94
- ISSN
- 0306-4530 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1994219219
- Cited by
- 99
- References
- 60
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 10 · 2022: 20 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 5.54
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Psychoneuroendocrinology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UCL Discovery (University College London) (acceptedVersion)
- Open Access at Essex (University of Essex) (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- European Research Council (ERC-2011-StG_20101124)
- Economic and Social Research Council (ES/J019119/1)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Adipokines, Inflammation, and Metabolic Diseases
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Behavioral Neuroscience › Stress Responses and Cortisol
- Keywords
- social isolation, C-reactive protein, life course, psychological distress, educational attainment, socioeconomic status, obesity, smoking, health behavior, coronary heart disease risk
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, C-Reactive Protein, Child, Child Development, Educational Status, Female, United Kingdom, Humans, Inflammation, Male, Middle Aged, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Social Class, Social Isolation, Socioeconomic Factors, Health Behavior, Young Adult
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