To lower your risk of heart disease and stroke, you need to get out and meet people. Loneliness and social isolation were linked to an increase in both conditions, according to a review of studies published online April 18, 2016, by the journal Heart.
Researchers examined 23 studies that involved 181,000 adults. Among this group, 4,628 heart-related events—such as heart attacks, angina attacks, or even death—and approximately 3,000 strokes were recorded. The data showed that loneliness, social isolation, or both were associated with a 29% increased risk of heart attack and 32% greater risk of stroke. The risk was similar to that of light smoking or obesity, according to the researchers.
Loneliness has already been linked to weaker immune systems and high blood pressure, according to lead researcher Dr. Nicole Valtorta of the University of York in the United Kingdom. While this was an observational study, she says the findings suggest that having a stronger social network is beneficial for your well-being and health, and that maintaining existing relationships and forging new friendships could be an effective form of disease prevention.
Efforts are underway to address the “epidemic of loneliness and isolation” affecting the country, as recently addressed by the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy who is laying out a “National Strategy to Advance Social Connection” initiative.
Virginia Tech neuroscientist Georgia Hodes says that reports of depression and anxiety are up at least 3-fold since the start of the COVID epidemic. “While loneliness and isolation are likely contributors, the COVID infection itself triggers a depressive episode in approximately 20 percent of people. Understanding how infection impacts mood may help us find new ways to treat individuals that do not fully respond to current antidepressants.”
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, social isolation and loneliness have been linked to increased risk for heart disease and stroke, type 2 diabetes, depression and anxiety, suicidality and self-harm, dementia, and earlier death.
Hodes’ research explores biomarkers and treatments for depression that target the body’s immune response system. For studies linking loneliness and isolation to effects on the brain, she points to one study that showed “people who reported they were lonely but were otherwise healthy adults had greater pro-inflammatory immune responses to acute stress and immune activation. The data suggests that loneliness is priming the immune system to react more strongly to stress.”
Hodes says that most studies on loneliness in humans have been done in older adults. She points to a recent study by Isabelle F. van der Velpen et al, that used MRI images from the Rotterdam study to examine the relationship between loneliness and brain matter volume. “At baseline higher loneliness scores were associated with decreased white matter volume. Perceived social support correlated positively with total brain and grey matter volume. In general, though there is little on perceived loneliness and specific changes in brain structures in humans.”
“One of the most replicated findings is perceived loneliness in humans is related to higher levels of the cytokine IL-6 in the periphery. Previously, in mice we reported that altering IL-6 produced in the periphery by the white blood cells could induce or block the effects of stress on social behavior” says Hodes. “This is a protein that has increased levels when someone is sick. The human data suggest that loneliness is putting people into a constant state of low-grade inflammation which may then promote social withdrawal, depression and/or anxiety.”
In a study conducted in the lab as well as during the COVID-19 lockdowns, participants reported higher levels of tiredness after eight hours of social isolation. The results suggest that low energy may be a basic human response to a lack of social contact. The study conducted at the University of Vienna and published in Psychological Science also showed that this response was affected by social personality traits of the participants.
If we do not eat for an extended period, a series of biological processes ensue that create a craving sensation we recognize as hunger. As a social species, we also need other people to survive. Evidence shows that a lack of social contact induces a craving response in our brains comparable to hunger, which motivates us to reconnect. The related “social homeostasis” hypothesis suggests that there is a dedicated homeostatic system that autonomously regulates our need for social contact. However, we know very little about the psychological responses to social isolation. Moreover, we do not know how these findings translate to the social isolation we experience in our daily lives, including the unique context of the COVID-19 lockdowns.
Studies have shown that social isolation and loneliness are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease, but less has been known about their specific connection with heart failure. A new study published in JACC: Heart Failure shows that both social isolation and loneliness are associated with higher rates of heart failure but whether or not a person feels lonely is more important in determining risk than if they are actually alone.
Social disconnection can be classified into two different, but connected, components. “Social isolation” refers to being objectively alone or having infrequent social connections, while “loneliness” is defined as a painful feeling caused when someone’s actual level of social interaction is less than they would like it to be.
For the study, researchers looked at data from the UK Biobank study, which followed population health outcomes over 12 years and assessed psychosocial factors like social isolation and loneliness through self-reported questionnaires. Researchers looked at health outcomes for a population of more than 400,000 middle-aged and older adults. Previous studies have been inconclusive, with inconsistent results and have used different measurements for assessing social isolation and loneliness, said Jihui Zhang, MD, PhD, a researcher at Guangzhou Medical University in Guangzhou, China, and senior author of the study.
Research over the last decade has shown that loneliness is an important determinant of health. It is associated with considerable physical and mental health risks and increased mortality. Previous studies have also shown that wisdom could serve as a protective factor against loneliness. This inverse relationship between loneliness and wisdom may be based in different brain processes.
In a study published in the March 5, 2021 online edition of Cerebral Cortex, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that specific regions of the brain respond to emotional stimuli related to loneliness and wisdom in opposing ways.
“We were interested in how loneliness and wisdom relate to emotional biases, meaning how we respond to different positive and negative emotions,” said Jyoti Mishra, PhD, senior author of the study, director of the NEATLabs and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
A new study shows a sort of signature in the brains of lonely people that make them distinct in fundamental ways, based on variations in the volume of different brain regions as well as based on how those regions communicate with one another across brain networks.
This holiday season will be a lonely one for many people as social distancing due to COVID-19 continues, and it is important to understand how isolation affects our health. A new study shows a sort of signature in the brains of lonely people that make them distinct in fundamental ways, based on variations in the volume of different brain regions as well as based on how those regions communicate with one another across brain networks.
A team of researchers examined the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data, genetics and psychological self-assessments of approximately 40,000 middle-aged and older adults who volunteered to have their information included in the UK Biobank: an open-access database available to health scientists around the world. They then compared the MRI data of participants who reported often feeling lonely with those who did not.
Full disclosure. I am a senior who lives alone. I do have a girlfriend and a dog whom I consider to be constant companions, so that may temper the damage of living solo as reported by Medical News Today.
A new study has concluded that living alone is linked to common mental disorders. The authors have also identified the main driver of this worrying relationship.
Some common mental disorders (CMDs) include mood disorders, anxiety, and substance use disorders.
According to some studies, almost one-third of people will experience a CMD in their lifetime.
These conditions can have a significant impact on the individual, of course, but due to their high prevalence, they also affect society at large.
Due to the widespread influence of CMDs, scientists are keen to understand the full range of risk factors that feed into mental health.
In recent years, scientists have investigated whether living alone might be one such risk factor. Continue reading →
When it comes to aging, I am reminded pretty much daily of the old saw, “Nobody said it was easy.” We need to work on our nutrition and our exercise every day of our lives as we age. But, that is not the complete answer. “Man does not live by bread alone.” It turns out that we need to take a hint from the Millennials around us and engage with others socially, too.
Writing in Medical News Today, Honor Whiteman reported on the importance or our social needs, also.
Two new meta-analyses from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, UT, reveal that loneliness and social isolation may increase the risk of premature death by up to 50 percent.
While loneliness and social isolation are often used interchangeably, there are notable differences between the two. Social isolation is defined as a lack of contact with other individuals, while loneliness is the feeling that one is emotionally disconnected from others. In essence, a person can be in the presence of others and still feel lonely. Continue reading →
“Not only are we at the highest recorded rate of living alone across the entire century, but we’re at the highest recorded rates ever on the planet,” said Tim Smith, co-author of the study. “With loneliness on the rise, we are predicting a possible loneliness epidemic in the future.”
Ask people what it takes to live a long life, and they’ll say things like exercise, take Omega-3s, and see your doctor regularly.
Now research from Brigham Young University shows that loneliness and social isolation are just as much a threat to longevity as obesity.
“The effect of this is comparable to obesity, something that public health takes very seriously,” said Julianne Holt-Lunstad, the lead study author. “We need to start taking our social relationships more seriously.”
Loneliness and social isolation can look very different. For example, someone may be surrounded by many people but still feel alone. Other people may isolate themselves because they prefer to be alone. The effect on longevity, however, is much the same for those two scenarios.
The association between loneliness and risk for mortality among young populations is actually greater than among older populations. Although older people are more likely to be lonely and…
Does Posting Facebook Status Updates Increase or Decrease Loneliness? An Online Social Networking Experiment
Online social networking is a pervasive but empirically understudied phenomenon.
Strong public opinions on its consequences exist but are backed up by little empirical evidence and almost no causally conclusive, experimental research.
The current study tested the psychological effects of posting status updates on Facebook using an experimental design.
For 1 week, participants in the experimental condition were asked to post more than they usually do, whereas participants in the control condition received no instructions. Participants added a lab “Research Profile” as a Facebook friend allowing for the objective documentation of protocol compliance, participants’ status updates, and friends’ responses.
Results revealed (1) that the experimentally induced increase in status updating activity reduced loneliness, (2) that the decrease in loneliness was due to participants feeling more connected to their friends on a daily basis, and…
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Wellness Secrets of a SuperAger 