Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2006 Aug;29(4):377-87.
doi: 10.1007/s10865-006-9056-5. Epub 2006 Jun 7.

Social support and health: a review of physiological processes potentially underlying links to disease outcomes

Bert N Uchino  1
Affiliations
Review

Social support and health: a review of physiological processes potentially underlying links to disease outcomes

Bert N Uchino. J Behav Med. 2006 Aug.

Abstract

Social support has been reliably related to lower rates of morbidity and mortality. An important issue concerns the physiological mechanisms by which support influences such health endpoints. In this review, I examine evidence linking social support to changes in cardiovascular, neuroendocrine, and immune function. Consistent with epidemiological evidence, social support appears to be related to more positive "biological profiles" across these disease-relevant systems. Recent research on immune-mediated inflammatory processes is also starting to provide data on more integrative physiological mechanisms potentially linking social support to health. The implications of these links, along with future research directions are discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Psychol Bull. 1985 Sep;98(2):310-57 - PubMed
    1. Health Psychol. 1993 Sep;12(5):376-80 - PubMed
    1. Psychosom Med. 1990 Jan-Feb;52(1):42-58 - PubMed
    1. Psychosom Med. 2001 Mar-Apr;63(2):267-72 - PubMed
    1. J Cardiovasc Risk. 1999 Dec;6(6):391-7 - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources