These studies overwhelmingly support the notion that social connectedness correlates negatively with allostatic load .
Several moderators of this relationship were also identified , including gender , social status , and quality of social ties .
The current evidence strongly indicates that the more socially connected individuals are , the less likely they are to experience chronic stress and associated allostatic load .
The negative association between social connectedness and various chronic diseases can thus , at least partially , be explained by the buffering qualities of social connectedness against allostatic load .
We argue that assessing social connectedness in clinical and epidemiological setting s may therefore represent a considerable asset in terms of prevention and intervention
In the present review , we argue that social disconnectedness could and should be included in primary -care screening protocol s for the detection of cardiometabolic disease .
Empirical evidence indicates that weak social connectedness represents a serious risk factor for chronic diseases , including cardiovascular disease , diabetes , and various cancers .
Weak social connectedness , however , is largely regarded as a second-tier health-risk factor in clinical and research setting s. This may be because the mechanisms by which this factor impacts on physical health are poorly understood .
Budding research , however , advances the idea that social connectedness buffers against stress-related allostatic load-a known precursor for cardiovascular disease and cancer .
The present paper review s the empirical knowledge on the relationship between everyday stress , social connectedness , and allostatic load .
Perceived Discrimination and Medication Adherence in Black Hypertensive Patients: The Role of Stress and Depression
Objective To examine the relationship between perceived discrimination and medication adherence among black people with hypertension and the role of stress and depressive symptoms in this relationship . Perceived racial discrimination has been associated with poor health outcomes in blacks ; its relationship to medication adherence among hypertensive patients remains untested . Methods We measured perceived racial discrimination at baseline , stress and depressive symptoms at 6 months , and medication adherence at 12 months among patients enrolled in a 30-site cluster-r and omized controlled trial testing a patient and physician-targeted intervention to improve blood pressure . A mediational method with bootstrapping ( stratified by site ) confidence intervals was used to estimate the indirect association between perceived discrimination and medication adherence through stress and depression . Results Of 1056 patients from 30 sites enrolled in the trial , 463 had complete data on all four measures at 6 and 12 months and were included in the analyses . Adjusting for clustering , perceived discrimination was associated with poor medication adherence ( B = 0.138 , p = .011 ) at 12 months , and with stress ( B = 2.24 , p = .001 ) and depression ( B = 1.47 , p = .001 ) at 6 months . When stress and depression were included in the model , there was a 65 % reduction in the total association of perceived discrimination with medication adherence , and the relationship was no longer significant ( B = 0.049 , p = .35 ) . Conclusions Perceived discrimination is associated with poor medication adherence among hypertensive blacks , and stress and depressive symptoms may account for this relationship . Trial Registration clinical trials.gov Identifier : NCT00233220
These studies overwhelmingly support the notion that social connectedness correlates negatively with allostatic load .
Several moderators of this relationship were also identified , including gender , social status , and quality of social ties .
The current evidence strongly indicates that the more socially connected individuals are , the less likely they are to experience chronic stress and associated allostatic load .
The negative association between social connectedness and various chronic diseases can thus , at least partially , be explained by the buffering qualities of social connectedness against allostatic load .
We argue that assessing social connectedness in clinical and epidemiological setting s may therefore represent a considerable asset in terms of prevention and intervention
In the present review , we argue that social disconnectedness could and should be included in primary -care screening protocol s for the detection of cardiometabolic disease .
Empirical evidence indicates that weak social connectedness represents a serious risk factor for chronic diseases , including cardiovascular disease , diabetes , and various cancers .
Weak social connectedness , however , is largely regarded as a second-tier health-risk factor in clinical and research setting s. This may be because the mechanisms by which this factor impacts on physical health are poorly understood .
Budding research , however , advances the idea that social connectedness buffers against stress-related allostatic load-a known precursor for cardiovascular disease and cancer .
The present paper review s the empirical knowledge on the relationship between everyday stress , social connectedness , and allostatic load .