title: Social support as a predictor exhaled nitric oxide in healthy individuals across time.
abstract: Psychosocial factors such as social support and depression have long been associated with health outcomes. Elevated depressive symptoms are usually associated with worse health outcomes, whereas social support has been related to improvements in health. Nitric oxide levels are an important marker of both cardiovascular health and immune function. Research suggests that exhaled nitric oxide is affected by stress, negative affect, and depression; however, the effect of social support has not been previously explored. Thus, we sought to examine the association of social support, negative affect, and depression with exhaled nitric oxide in a group of 35 healthy individuals (10 males and 25 females) with a mean age of 20.5years across five weekly assessments. Results showed that changes in social support within individuals were positively associated with levels of exhaled nitric oxide independent of other psychosocial factors. Further exploration of the health implications of this positive relationship between airway nitric oxide and social support is necessary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA. Electronic address: atrueba@smu.edu.
authors.forename: Ana F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: Trueba
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rosenfield
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Noelle Bassi
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Tabitha L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Gorena
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ritz
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D045853:Exhalation / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009569:Nitric Oxide / Q000378:metabolism*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011584:Psychology; D012944:Social Support; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D009569:Nitric Oxide
keywords: Depression; Health; Negative affect; Nitric oxide; Social support; Stress