Loneliness and Immune Gene Expression in Korean Adults: The Moderating Effect of Social Orientation

Abstract

Objective: Loneliness, the distress experienced from a perceived lack of desired interpersonal relationship, is detrimental to mental and physical well-being. One of the physiological correlates of chronic loneliness is alteration of immune transcriptional profiles, characterized by up-regulation of proinflammatory response and down-regulation of antiviral response, called conserved transcriptional response to adversity (CTRA) gene expression. Here, we examined whether the loneliness-CTRA link would be moderated by individual differences in social orientation-that is, the degree to which individuals are collectivistic versus individualistic. Method: In a sample of 152 Korean adults (aged 20 to 69, mean age = 44.64, 50% female), we examined the relationship between loneliness and blood cell CTRA gene expression as moderated by individual levels of collectivism (vs. individualism). Results: As predicted, social orientation significantly moderated the loneliness-CTRA link. Loneliness was associated with elevated CTRA expression among Koreans with high levels of collectivism (vs. individualism). In contrast, the loneliness-CTRA link was completely absent among those with lower levels of collectivism (vs. individualism). Conclusion: The current finding highlights the role that individual variation in social orientation plays in modulating the risk of loneliness on adverse health outcomes.