Positive affect and markers of inflammation: discrete positive emotions predict lower levels of inflammatory cytokines.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Non-randomized observational cross-sectional studies in healthy human samples
PubMed 25603133 · doi:10.1037/emo0000033
What was done
Across two studies in healthy samples, researchers evaluated the association between dispositional positive affect and circulating levels of the proinflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6). They also evaluated discrete positive emotions (specifically awe, assessed via two different measurement approaches) and their relationship to IL-6 levels while controlling for relevant personality and health covariates.
What was found
Greater trait positive affect was associated with lower levels of IL-6 across both studies. Among discrete positive emotions, awe was the strongest predictor of lower proinflammatory cytokine levels, even after controlling for personality and health variables. The abstract reports no numerical values, effect sizes, or p-values.
Why it matters
This study identifies a potential biological pathway linking positive emotional traits—particularly awe—to physical health through reduced systemic inflammation.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample sizes, demographic details, or numerical statistics. Because this was an observational study, it cannot establish causality, and unmeasured confounding or reverse causation cannot be ruled out.