haidut

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I have posted before on the link between status and health and I think user @Such_Saturation also posted a study on reversal of dominant social status leading to serotonergic dominance. This latest study shows that it is the relative difference of social status that matters. So, even though a person in a Western country may have more material goods than a person in a third world country, if the Western person is separated with a bigger distance from the top class then that person would be a in poorer health than his materially poorer counterpart in the third world. The low social status resulted in immune system overactivation, with the subsequent rise in inflammation and all of its related diseases. Interestingly, the bulk of the immune response was mediated through the endoxotin (TLR4) receptor, which both suggests a role of endotoxin in chronic stress and chronic diseases, as well as suggests ways to mitigate the damage with substances such as emodin, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin B2, niacinamide, ketotifen, cyproheptadine, pregnenolone, progesterone, DHEA, etc.

Social status alters immune regulation and response to infection in macaques | Science
"...Social status is one of the strongest predictors of human disease risk and mortality, and it also influences Darwinian fitness in social mammals more generally. To understand the biological basis of these effects, we combined genomics with a social status manipulation in female rhesus macaques to investigate how status alters immune function. We demonstrate causal but largely plastic social status effects on immune cell proportions, cell type–specific gene expression levels, and the gene expression response to immune challenge. Further, we identify specific transcription factor signaling pathways that explain these differences, including low-status–associated polarization of the Toll-like receptor 4 signaling pathway toward a proinflammatory response. Our findings provide insight into the direct biological effects of social inequality on immune function, thus improving our understanding of social gradients in health."



Low social status 'can damage immune system' - BBC News
"...The gulf in life expectancy between the richest and poorest is huge - in the US it is more than a decade for women and 15 years for men. Part of the explanation is that people from poorer backgrounds are more likely to have a worse lifestyle - including smoking, little exercise and diets containing junk food. But the latest study goes further to show low status - with all of those other factors stripped out - still has an impact on the body."

"...The captive Rhesus monkeys - who were all female, unrelated and had never met before - were divided one-by-one into nine new groups of five. The newest member nearly always ended up at the bottom of the social order and became "chronically stressed", received less grooming and more harassment from the other monkeys. A detailed analysis of the monkeys' blood showed 1,600 differences in the activity levels of genes involved in running the immune system between those at the top and bottom. It had the impact of making the immune system run too aggressively in those at the bottom. High levels of inflammation cause collateral damage to the body to increase the risk of other diseases."

"...Further experiments showed the immune system was not fixed and could be improved, or made worse, by mixing up the social rankings."

"...He pointed to evidence suggesting people at the bottom end up with worse health when the top gets richer, even if they themselves do not get any poorer. He said: "It is something governments just don't understand; they think people at the bottom have got cars, have got TVs, so compared with people in India they're enormously wealthy. "But that really isn't the point, they feel they are at the bottom of the heap."
 

zztr

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... In Monkeys.

I read that "Why Zebras don't get Ulcers" book and he also extensively anthropomorphised monkeys and apes. Humans don't live in baboon troops and meaningful comparisons seem very stretched to me.

There's the claim made above that the rich getting richer makes poor people feel worse. That is quite a leap. I find it far more likely that rapid economic growth/change that makes people rich is typically accompanied by a lot of social disruption and changes in social values. Yet there's this leap to a marxist flavored analysis. There are still huge numbers of marxist tinged academics who want to bring class into everything.
 
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haidut

haidut

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... In Monkeys.

I read that "Why Zebras don't get Ulcers" book and he also extensively anthropomorphised monkeys and apes. Humans don't live in baboon troops and meaningful comparisons seem very stretched to me.

There's the claim made above that the rich getting richer makes poor people feel worse. That is quite a leap. I find it far more likely that rapid economic growth/change that makes people rich is typically accompanied by a lot of social disruption and changes in social values. Yet there's this leap to a marxist flavored analysis. There are still huge numbers of marxist tinged academics who want to bring class into everything.

I hear you, but this was their conclusion - i.e. that study results are "terrifically" applicable to humans.
But class warfare aside, I think the more important message of the study is that "chronic stress" (regardless of what is behind it) causes the increase in inflammation / endotoxin and the subsequent health issues.
 
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Agent207

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The newest member nearly always ended up at the bottom of the social order and became "chronically stressed", received less grooming and more harassment from the other monkeys

Fortunately most humans still have a very wide arrange of ways, -adjusted to the severity of each situation- to deal with some types of stress.
falling-down-original.jpg
 

Dhair

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You posted a few months ago that striving to achieve higher socioeconomic status negatively effects health and now we have this study saying that low social status negatively effects health.
Theres a bit of a contradiction here and it seems to reinforce learned helplessness.
 

pboy

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social status doesn't necessarily equate with true 'status', oppression is an irritant but doesn't necessarily have to be stressful in the sense of being able to leave a dent, so to speak, the more wise, righteous a person the more their 'true status' is, and this might or might not be reflected by their social status...in animals it might be more correlated or straightforward, if even that. Immunity in a large part is also based on your internal state, as much as external...theres a lot of pychosomaticness to illness as well as things like the state of your consciousness and outlook, amongst others, and conscience. As an example when I was a vegan for a while, looking back, I was definitely deficient or imbalanced in things, or low, was having usually lower than optimal calories, and was making 10$ an hour or so just making rent and still needed some help for food and other things, so I guess you would say was 'low social status', and yet I never got 'sick'. I'm sure stuff was going on potentially, but cause what I was doing for work was a good cause, I was doing a good job, I treated people well, I felt good about what I was doing and how I was living, and I realized that getting sick wouldn't help anything...I kind of was gonna go forwards anyways so it wouldn't be something that would 'slow me down'...I think a lot of times sickness for people is brought on by a desire for a break and or emotional contact. Deficient in nutrients, low calories, working a lot for a wage and amount that might put people 'under stress', living in a room without central heating in the winter, basically feeling very very cold to near immobility, and yet never got a 'cold' where as many people that made more money, were eating more and probably nutrients (though worse quality) got sick, and its kind of a common thing in society. The true knowledge and wisdom I was gaining was very valuable, and wasn't just, and was beyond, reading a textbook on how to be a manager for example, yet technically that person maybe would be making more money and of 'higher social status'. Doing acts in life that stimulate genuine feelings of righteousness and value to people as people rather than being an authority who does things by the book and isn't necessarily considering people's feelings or anything of a higher or deeper purpose or cause, pretty much proves what real status is about in relation to your health and feeling. You don't get juiced by being an average middle class person necessarily, yet you might get juiced being 'low status' and being a person living righteously, treating people well, optimistic, and doing things to raise vibrations around you...and that juice is probably raising immunity
 
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haidut

haidut

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You posted a few months ago that striving to achieve higher socioeconomic status negatively effects health and now we have this study saying that low social status negatively effects health.
Theres a bit of a contradiction here and it seems to reinforce learned helplessness.

Right, so the other study also focused on prolonged stress effects. I guess having no social status leads to chronic stress imposed by others and there is not much hope that the situation will change. Striving for success leads to chronic stress imposed by the person striving for success (and others competing with the person). But in the second example the person is hoping that if they get social status the stress will stop and there will be enough benefits to reverse the damage that the stress may have caused. So, maybe striving for success and status is the lesser of two evils. At least you have some chance of escaping the learned helplessness.
 

Wagner83

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Perhaps finding a way to step out of the social status/income/mycarisbigger rankings is a way to avoid part of the related stress.
 

Makrosky

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Perhaps finding a way to step out of the social status/income/mycarisbigger rankings is a way to avoid part of the related stress.
Yes good point. Very, very difficult IMHO though. You have to enlighten yourself to a very high degree.
 

Wagner83

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I don't think it's realistic to completely avoid any stress as related to work and social status in general, however my guess is by picking your friends right, pursuing enlightening activities , limiting expectations and ego it is possible to greatly alleviate it. Of course depending on certain context and certain times it may be more difficult. I guess it goes back to not only seeing yourself through the eyes of others. Lots of work to do.
 

Amazoniac

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social status doesn't necessarily equate with true 'status', oppression is an irritant but doesn't necessarily have to be stressful in the sense of being able to leave a dent, so to speak, the more wise, righteous a person the more their 'true status' is, and this might or might not be reflected by their social status...in animals it might be more correlated or straightforward, if even that. Immunity in a large part is also based on your internal state, as much as external...theres a lot of pychosomaticness to illness as well as things like the state of your consciousness and outlook, amongst others, and conscience. As an example when I was a vegan for a while, looking back, I was definitely deficient or imbalanced in things, or low, was having usually lower than optimal calories, and was making 10$ an hour or so just making rent and still needed some help for food and other things, so I guess you would say was 'low social status', and yet I never got 'sick'. I'm sure stuff was going on potentially, but cause what I was doing for work was a good cause, I was doing a good job, I treated people well, I felt good about what I was doing and how I was living, and I realized that getting sick wouldn't help anything...I kind of was gonna go forwards anyways so it wouldn't be something that would 'slow me down'...I think a lot of times sickness for people is brought on by a desire for a break and or emotional contact. Deficient in nutrients, low calories, working a lot for a wage and amount that might put people 'under stress', living in a room without central heating in the winter, basically feeling very very cold to near immobility, and yet never got a 'cold' where as many people that made more money, were eating more and probably nutrients (though worse quality) got sick, and its kind of a common thing in society. The true knowledge and wisdom I was gaining was very valuable, and wasn't just, and was beyond, reading a textbook on how to be a manager for example, yet technically that person maybe would be making more money and of 'higher social status'. Doing acts in life that stimulate genuine feelings of righteousness and value to people as people rather than being an authority who does things by the book and isn't necessarily considering people's feelings or anything of a higher or deeper purpose or cause, pretty much proves what real status is about in relation to your health and feeling. You don't get juiced by being an average middle class person necessarily, yet you might get juiced being 'low status' and being a person living righteously, treating people well, optimistic, and doing things to raise vibrations around you...and that juice is probably raising immunity
Basically perceived low social status is the main issue, right?
 

amethyst

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I have posted before on the link between status and health and I think user @Such_Saturation also posted a study on reversal of dominant social status leading to serotonergic dominance. This latest study shows that it is the relative difference of social status that matters. So, even though a person in a Western country may have more material goods than a person in a third world country, if the Western person is separated with a bigger distance from the top class then that person would be a in poorer health than his materially poorer counterpart in the third world. The low social status resulted in immune system overactivation, with the subsequent rise in inflammation and all of its related diseases. Interestingly, the bulk of the immune response was mediated through the endoxotin (TLR4) receptor, which both suggests a role of endotoxin in chronic stress and chronic diseases, as well as suggests ways to mitigate the damage with substances such as emodin, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin B2, niacinamide, ketotifen, cyproheptadine, pregnenolone, progesterone, DHEA, etc.

Social status alters immune regulation and response to infection in macaques | Science
"...Social status is one of the strongest predictors of human disease risk and mortality, and it also influences Darwinian fitness in social mammals more generally. To understand the biological basis of these effects, we combined genomics with a social status manipulation in female rhesus macaques to investigate how status alters immune function. We demonstrate causal but largely plastic social status effects on immune cell proportions, cell type–specific gene expression levels, and the gene expression response to immune challenge. Further, we identify specific transcription factor signaling pathways that explain these differences, including low-status–associated polarization of the Toll-like receptor 4 signaling pathway toward a proinflammatory response. Our findings provide insight into the direct biological effects of social inequality on immune function, thus improving our understanding of social gradients in health."



Low social status 'can damage immune system' - BBC News
"...The gulf in life expectancy between the richest and poorest is huge - in the US it is more than a decade for women and 15 years for men. Part of the explanation is that people from poorer backgrounds are more likely to have a worse lifestyle - including smoking, little exercise and diets containing junk food. But the latest study goes further to show low status - with all of those other factors stripped out - still has an impact on the body."

"...The captive Rhesus monkeys - who were all female, unrelated and had never met before - were divided one-by-one into nine new groups of five. The newest member nearly always ended up at the bottom of the social order and became "chronically stressed", received less grooming and more harassment from the other monkeys. A detailed analysis of the monkeys' blood showed 1,600 differences in the activity levels of genes involved in running the immune system between those at the top and bottom. It had the impact of making the immune system run too aggressively in those at the bottom. High levels of inflammation cause collateral damage to the body to increase the risk of other diseases."

"...Further experiments showed the immune system was not fixed and could be improved, or made worse, by mixing up the social rankings."

"...He pointed to evidence suggesting people at the bottom end up with worse health when the top gets richer, even if they themselves do not get any poorer. He said: "It is something governments just don't understand; they think people at the bottom have got cars, have got TVs, so compared with people in India they're enormously wealthy. "But that really isn't the point, they feel they are at the bottom of the heap."
So basically, it is a person's "perception" of their circumstances that dictate their immune response. If say, a person comes from a typical "middle" class background (and middle class is changing rapidly) yet they choose to spend their income on health promoting foods and lifestyle practices, and are not effected by the societal expectations or social adaptive behaviors of their said middle class background, then, they would be just as healthy, if not more than, an individual from a higher class, who has more ready access to health promoting endeavors.
 
L

lollipop

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being a person living righteously, treating people well, optimistic, and doing things to raise vibrations around you...and that juice is probably raising immunity
I have experienced this.
 

amethyst

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Basically perceived low social status is the main issue, right?
Yes, I think it's about "perception" more than status. Many people in third world countries have very basic diets, yet their lifespans are robust, if they don't engage in detrimental habits that cut their longevity prematurely.
 

Amazoniac

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Yes, I think it's about "perception" more than status. Many people in third world countries have very basic diets, yet their lifespans are robust, if they don't engage in detrimental habits that cut their longevity prematurely.
Nice timing.
Hence the message from many supercentenarians, including haidut in the future, that will say that the key is to keep positive no matter what..
 

amethyst

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Nice timing.
Hence the message from many supercentenarians, including haidut in the future, that will say that the key is keep positive no matter what..
;) Funny that.
Yeah, I agree with you. One's circumstances does not necessarily dictate their outcomes.
 
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... In Monkeys.

I read that "Why Zebras don't get Ulcers" book and he also extensively anthropomorphised monkeys and apes. Humans don't live in baboon troops and meaningful comparisons seem very stretched to me.

:+1

Homo sapien is a different species. For example, one big difference is that homo sapien figured out how to cook starch. Other primate are still eating a 100% raw food diet.

Another difference is homo sapien have the ability to fast, while other primate can not make ketones, therefore they can't wander too far from the tropics.
 

Regina

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Right, so the other study also focused on prolonged stress effects. I guess having no social status leads to chronic stress imposed by others and there is not much hope that the situation will change. Striving for success leads to chronic stress imposed by the person striving for success (and others competing with the person). But in the second example the person is hoping that if they get social status the stress will stop and there will be enough benefits to reverse the damage that the stress may have caused. So, maybe striving for success and status is the lesser of two evils. At least you have some chance of escaping the learned helplessness.
This is something from an interview with my teacher's teacher. I like the way he says "champion" is the end of the road:
<<Aikido is a form of martial art training, but it's also self-development. If you become a better person, you can pass that on to others. Other people, say, in your work. If you have deeper understanding, and deeper experience, you can give that to others. So your training benefits other people.

For example, what is this art? Is it something that can be applied in any situation? Your own self-development depends on how deeply you understand, and how much your art can be applied on any other occasion. If you have a deeper understanding, you can give it to others. If you don't, you don't have much to give others.

Some people believe that martial art training is about becoming a champion. Not aikido. If martial arts is about competition, you can become a champion. So what? What can this champion do for others? The champion, to me, is the end of the road. You've become number one from your training, and nobody else has equaled you. You're finished. In aikido, we don't have a single champion. We are not trying to select one person as the best. With aikido training, each individual develops. So each individual has to become a champion. Human relationships become stronger. Then we get older. Our physicality goes down the drain. We still need the physical, but even without strength, we can still be developing or sharing our own arts.Then our junior becomes a senior, now he is passing on a higher quality, better and deeper understanding of the arts, which spreads our influence. We have grown and there's still more to learn. Life continues to fill us with enthusiasm.If you don't do that kind of sharing then the cycle becomes: champion — finished. Then the next one becomes champion — and he's finished. Becoming the champion is a low class of champion. That's no good. Instead, in aikido, everybody becomes a champion.>>
 

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