PREMATURE AGING - THE LINK BETWEEN PSYCHOSOCIAL RISK-FACTORS AND DISEASE

In epidemiological studies from different countries, morbidity and mor tality have been found to be increased in populations exposed to adver se psychosocial factors, e.g. low social class or poor social networks . Biological mechanisms must be operative to mediate this influence of social factors on clinical outcome. As increasing age is the common d enominator for different categories of chronic disease, the ageing pro cess itself in individuals may be studied in connection with data on e xposure to negative psychosocial and lifestyle factors. A hypothesis i s stated that premature ageing is the result of social pathology worki ng on human physiology if buffering, health-preserving (salutogenic) m echanisms are not sufficient to counteract this effect. One measurable variable of the ageing process may be melatonin, known to decrease wi th age and to be lower in patients with coronary heart disease than in normal individuals.