Association of positive psychological well-being with circulating inflammatory markers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Accumulating evidence shows a protective effect of positive psychological well-being (PPWB) on health outcomes. However, the underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. One pathway relates to enhanced immune functioning (Boehm, 2021). The aim of this project was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of the association between PPWB and circulating inflammatory biomarkers and determine the magnitude of this association. After examining 748 references, 29 studies were included. Results from over 94'700 participants revealed a significant association between PPWB and reduced levels of interleukin (IL)- 6 (r = -0.05; P < .001) and C-reactive protein (CRP) (r = -0.06; P < .001) with a heterogeneity of I2 = 31.5% and I2 = 84.5%, respectively. Only the association of PPWB with CRP was independent of co-variates included in the individual studies (r = -0.04; P = .027). The findings of this systematic review and meta-analysis suggest that PPWB is associated with lower levels of inflammatory biomarkers IL-6 and CRP in the circulation. Such relationships with inflammatory biomarkers may partly explain positive effects of PPWB on health.