Fighting with friends and family may have more lasting effects than just ruining your day.
In a study released May 28, psychologists Rodlescia Sneed and Sheldon Cohen of Carnegie Mellon University found that negative social interactions can increase the risk of hypertension in older adults. But their findings weren't true across the board. Women, it turns out, take conflict to heart much more than men do.
For decades, scientists have known that the wider your social circle, the healthier you are likely to be. As far back as 1987, researchers found that, in Alameda County, Calif., residents with more close friends and family members had higher chances of living longer.
"It is very clear that people who are lonely and who feel socially isolated are at greater risk of heart disease,“ said Karen Matthews, professor of psychiatry and epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh.
For over 10 years, Ms. Matthews has been studying the link between social interactions and cardiovascular health. She has equipped her subjects with cuffs that measure blood pressure once every 30 or 45 minutes throughout their day. When the cuff inflates, participants stop and write down their recent activity: where they are, who they have been with, and what they have been doing.
Those who have had social contact in the last 10 minutes generally have lower blood pressure, Ms. Matthews said.
Mr. Cohen has himself spent 30 years looking at how psychological factors influence our susceptibility to colds. In these studies, participants were asked about their social lives before researchers dropped virus-infected liquid into their nostrils. Then, the participants were quarantined and monitored for five to six days. Mr. Cohen discovered that the more social roles one played -- such as being a parent, spouse, friend, volunteer or member of a religious group -- the stronger one’s immunity to colds.
Study: Stress from interpersonal conflict may spur high blood pressure
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