Social Support as Anti-Inflammatory Medicine: How Relationships Reduce Disease
How Do Strong Relationships Actually Reduce Inflammation in Your Body?
Social support and integration significantly reduce inflammatory cytokines including interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and C-reactive protein - key markers of chronic inflammation that drive cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, and accelerated aging. This meta-analysis reveals that people with stronger social connections have measurably lower levels of these inflammatory molecules, suggesting that relationships function as a form of anti-inflammatory medicine that works at the cellular level to protect against disease.