Autonomy, Social Integration, and Emotional Distress in Relation to Inflammatory Risk in Older Chilean Adults

Social status experiences, such as perceiving control over one's life and feeling socially connected, are thought to influence health through stress pathways, yet evidence from Latin America is limited. This study tested the status syndrome framework in a cross sectional sample of 386 Chilean adults aged 50 and older, examining associations between psychosocial indicators of autonomy, social integration, emotional distress, and physiological risk markers including C reactive protein (CRP) and mean arterial pressure (MAP). Multinomial logistic regression models were estimated to examine associations with physiological risk categories. No associations were observed for MAP, whereas inflammatory risk indexed by CRP was associated with perceived discrimination and emotional burden. Emotional burden was particularly linked to CRP among men but not women, suggesting sex-specific patterns in this association. These findings highlight discrimination-related experiences and emotional burden as psychosocial correlates of inflammatory risk among older adults in a Latin American context.