Marital quality and longevity: Biobehavioral pathways

摘要 婚姻是大多数成年人的核心关系，发病率和死亡率可靠地较低 对于已婚人士来说，比未婚人士更重要。然而，配偶的存在并不一定是保护性的： 麻烦的婚姻同时提供了一个主要的压力来源，同时限制了伴侣寻求 在其他关系中的支持。以高负罪率或惩罚性为特征的婚姻不和 行为(例如，敌意、挖苦、退缩)，婚姻痛苦的特征，增加促炎作用 细胞因子的产生；婚姻不和的显著后果包括风险增加和预后变差 与炎症相关的疾病。与明显促进婚姻的负面或惩罚性行为形成对比 痛苦，越来越多的文献表明，积极的婚姻互动是令人满意的关系的核心， 并可能有益于健康。资本化行为(披露后的鼓励、支持性回应 积极事件)是最有影响力的积极婚姻行为之一。使用三种最先进的 与炎症相关的分子衰老生物标志物(端粒长度、p16INK4a表达和表观遗传学 年龄，个人表观遗传时钟的状态)，我们解决了新的问题：不幸福的婚姻 加速分子衰老？幸福的婚姻能延缓分子衰老，延长寿命和健康吗？ 跨度(一个人健康的时间长度--而不仅仅是活着)？利用行为学、免疫学和 分子老化研究，这项研究将评估关键婚姻之间的既有关系和预期关系 行为和分子老化生物标志物。因此，在基线访问中，夫妇将被要求解决一个 分歧，他们还将讨论积极的个人事件；这些讨论将是行为上的 编码过的。血液样本将提供分子衰老生物标记物的数据，除了夫妇的炎症 对互动的响应性。这对夫妇在第一次访问两年后再次访问，将评估 婚姻质量、炎症和三个分子衰老生物标志物。 我们有三个具体目标：目标1：描述当前和未来的关系 夫妻的互动行为和情绪、炎症和衰老生物标记物。目标2：评估 炎症与分子衰老生物标志物之间的关系。目标3：这一探索性目标 阐述了性别对情绪、炎症、炎症反应和 老化的生物标志物，以及演员-伴侣对这些结果的影响。 这项提议的新方法提供了一种方法来测试关于 婚姻行为影响寿命和健康的方式。行为、炎症、 分子衰老代表了一个重要的新前沿，可以理解一个人最亲密的个人 关系可以加速或延缓衰老。这个项目将有助于阐明 婚姻影响我们的健康和长寿--无论是好是坏。

Abstract Marriage is the central relationship for the majority of adults, and morbidity and mortality are reliably lower for the married than the unmarried. However, the simple presence of a spouse is not necessarily protective: a troubled marriage simultaneously provides a prime source of stress while limiting a partner's ability to seek support in other relationships. Marital disagreements that are marked by high rates of negative or punishing behaviors (e.g., hostility, sarcasm, withdrawal), hallmarks of marital distress, increase proinflammatory cytokine production; marital discord's notable consequences include amplified risk and poorer outcomes for inflammation-related disorders. In contrast to the negative or punishing behaviors that clearly promote marital distress, a growing literature suggests that positive marital interactions are central to satisfying relationships, and may benefit health. Capitalization behaviors (encouraging, supportive responses that follow disclosure of positive events) are among the most influential positive marital behaviors. Using three state-of-the-art molecular aging biomarkers associated with inflammation (telomere length, p16INK4a expression, and epigenetic age, the status of an individual's epigenetic clock), we address novel questions: Do unhappy marriages accelerate molecular aging? Can happy marriages slow molecular aging and extend both lifespan and health span (the length of time that a person is healthy—not just alive)? Drawing on behavioral, immunological, and molecular aging research, this study will assess concurrent and prospective relationships between key marital behaviors and molecular aging biomarkers. Accordingly, at the baseline visit, couples will be asked to resolve a disagreement, and they will also discuss positive personal events; these discussions will be behaviorally coded. Blood samples will provide data on molecular aging biomarkers in addition to couples' inflammatory responsiveness to the interactions. The couples' second visit, two years after the first, will assess changes in marital quality, inflammation, and the three molecular aging biomarkers. We have three specific aims: Aim 1: To characterize the concurrent and prospective relationships between couples' interactive behaviors and mood, inflammation, and aging biomarkers. Aim 2: To assess the relationships among inflammation and the molecular aging biomarkers. Aim 3: This exploratory aim addresses the relative contributions of gender to mood, inflammation, inflammatory responsiveness, and the aging biomarkers, as well as actor-partner effects on these outcomes. This proposal's novel methodology provides a way to test innovative and original hypotheses about the ways that marital behavior impacts lifespan and health span. The interactions among behavior, inflammation, and molecular aging represent an important new frontier for understanding how one's closest personal relationship can accelerate or slow aging. This project will help illuminate the mechanisms through which marriage influences our health and longevity -- for good or ill.