Feeling alone ‘increases risk of becoming a silent killer by 56%’, experts warn

LONG-term loneliness can increase the risk of stroke by 56 percent, a new study suggests.

Loneliness has previously been linked to heart disease, depression, dementia and diabetes.

Researchers at Harvard University in the United States suggest that the health dangers of feeling lonely become apparent over time.

People experiencing situational or new loneliness did not have the same increased risk of stroke.

But it follows another recent study which found that even short-term loneliness can carry health risks.

Loneliness is considered a state of mind that causes a person to feel empty, alone and unwanted. It is not the same as social isolation, but it can be exacerbated by it.

The latest study was led by Dr Yenee Soh, research associate at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, who said: “Loneliness is increasingly seen as a major public health problem.

“Our results further highlight why.

“Especially when experienced chronically, our study suggests that loneliness may play an important role in the incidence of stroke, which is already a leading cause of long-term disability and mortality in the world. »

The study, published in eClinicalMedicine, used data from 2006 to 2018 from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study.

Some 12,161 people aged 50 and over who had never suffered a stroke were surveyed about loneliness between 2006 and 2008.

Four years later, nearly 9,000 people remaining in the study answered the same questions about loneliness.

Among these people, 601 strokes occurred between 2010 and 2018.

After accounting for factors such as social isolation and depressive symptoms, which are closely related but distinct from loneliness, the researchers found that people considered alone at the start of the study were at risk for stroke. cerebral 25% higher than those who were not considered alone.

Increasing feelings of social connection, even for one day, could lead to fewer health symptoms that day.

David AlmeidaProfessor of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State College of Health

Among those who scored “consistently high” on loneliness at both time points, the risk of stroke was 56% higher than those who never reported loneliness.

Dr Soh said: “Repeated assessments of loneliness can help identify those who suffer from chronic loneliness and are therefore at higher risk of stroke.

“If we fail to address their feelings of loneliness, on a micro and macro scale, the consequences for their health could be profound. »

Dr Soh said people should be offered help based on their loneliness – which is linked to how people feel even when they are around other people.

The researchers concluded: “Chronic loneliness was associated with a higher risk of stroke, independent of depressive symptoms or social isolation.

“Addressing loneliness may play an important role in preventing stroke, and repeated assessments of loneliness over time may help identify those at particular risk.” »

More than 100,000 people suffer a stroke each year in the UK.

Stroke is the fourth leading cause of death in the UK, responsible for 34,000 deaths per year.

This follows a study published last week that found loneliness can lead to negative health symptoms in people even if they don’t typically identify as lonely or typically feel lonely.

People who experience more temporary feelings of loneliness or who have high variability in their feelings of loneliness are likely to have daily health problems related to loneliness, including general fatigue, headaches and nausea, suggests the study.

Data from more than 1,500 people aged 35 to 65 showed that when participants were less lonely on average and on days when loneliness was lower than the average person, they had fewer physical health symptoms and less serious.

David Almeida, professor of human development and family studies at Penn State College of Health and lead author of the paper, said: “Increasing feelings of social connection, even for a day, could lead to fewer health symptoms this that day.

“Such daily focus offers a manageable and hopeful micro-intervention for people living in loneliness.”