Loneliness kills: heart failure risk due to social isolation

Social fragmentation can be broken down into two separate but related components. “Social isolation” refers to objective loneliness or sparse social connections, while “loneliness” is defined as the painful feeling that occurs when someone’s actual level of social interaction is less than they would like.

Chinese researchers reviewed data from a study that followed population health outcomes for 12 years and assessed psychosocial factors such as social isolation and loneliness using self-reported questionnaires. Lab + Life Scientist writes that they studied the health outcomes of a population of more than 400,000 middle-aged and older people.

in 24News Breaker. Technology emerged telegraph channel. Subscribe so you don’t miss the latest and exciting news from the world of science!

Researchers have found that both social isolation and loneliness increase the risk of hospitalization or death from heart failure by 15-20%. However, they found that social isolation is a risk factor only when feelings of loneliness are also present. In other words, loneliness was more important if a person felt both socially isolated and lonely. Loneliness increases the risk even if the person is not socially isolated. Loneliness and social isolation were more common in males and were also associated with negative behaviors and health status, such as tobacco use and obesity.

Senior author Jihui Zhang of Guangzhou Medical University said one reason for these results may be that people feel lonely even when they are in relationships or interacting with other people.

“These results suggest that the effect of subjective loneliness is more significant than the effect of objective social isolation,” he said.

Zhang said the study points to effective tools for identifying social isolation and loneliness in routine clinical practice, and a broader drive to provide greater social support. This indicates the importance of separating these two factors from each other.

“We will pay more attention to people who feel lonely because of the intervention. We will do social isolation testing to people who don’t feel lonely.”

In future studies, the researchers plan to explore the impact of social isolation and loneliness on core health outcomes for vulnerable populations, including patients with type 2 diabetes. They are also working on pilot studies to better understand the mechanisms by which social isolation and loneliness affect cardiovascular health.

Previously Focus He wrote that hormones aren’t always responsible for relationships. Genetic deprivation of oxytocin in prairie mice did not prevent them from mating and forming families, changing everything we know about the role of oxytocin in love and family formation.