Citation

Andreasson AN, Szulkin R, Undén AL, von Essen J, Nilsson LG, Lekander M. J. Health Psychol. 2013; 18(3): 311-320.

Affiliation

Stockholm University, Sweden.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

10.1177/1359105311435428

PMID

22496462

Abstract

Poor subjective health has been associated with higher levels of inflammatory cytokines. We investigated whether such an association would apply to women of the general population. Levels of cytokines, affect and subjective health were assessed in 347 women of the general population aged 45 to 90 years. Higher levels of interleukin-6 were associated with poor subjective health, especially in participants over 65 years of age. Positive affect was a more robust determinant of subjective health than negative affect. The presence of low-grade inflammation and absence of positive affect, rather than presence of negative affect, may be important determinants of subjective health.

Language: en