Higher Self-efficacy Associated With Lower Interleukin-6 in Older Adults With Chronic Disease
Year: 2018
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: Although inflammation is common in older adults with chronic diseases, not all have the same amount or degree of poor health outcomes from the inflammation or chronic diseases. Self-efficacy is integral to successful disease management but it is unclear if and how this relates to inflammation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate associations between self-efficacy and Interleukin-6 (IL-6), which is an inflammatory cytokine highly associated with all-cause morbidity and mortality. We conducted a two-visit cross-sectional study with 161 community dwelling adults ages 65 and older in Maryland. All participants had at least one chronic condition (e.g. hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, etc.) Those with a terminal illness diagnosis, active cancer treatment, cognitive impairment or progressive neurological condition were excluded. Sweat IL-6, self-efficacy, number of chronic diseases, social support and other socio-demographic data were collected. Sweat was collected using a non-invasive sweat patch worn for 72 hours by each participant. We examined the effect of self-efficacy in predicting sweat IL-6 after controlling for co-variates using multiple linear regression. There was a significant relationship between self-efficacy and IL-6 (β= -.02. p=0.004) that remained significant after adjustment for age, sex, race, body mass index, number of chronic conditions and social support (β= -0.22, p=0.005). Higher self-efficacy was significantly related to lower IL-6. Although preliminary, this could shed light on the mechanistic connection between psychological and physical states. Enhancing self-efficacy might also be a viable non-pharmacological treatment to lower or slow inflammatory burden in older adults.
Source: Innovation in Aging
Language: English
Subfield: General Health Professions
Field: Health Professions
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,977
OpenAlex ID: W2899920730