What are the effects of loneliness on health? Very heavy. To confirm it, in addition to dozens of studies, also the alarm of Vivek Murthy, head of Health in the United States government. The US surgeon general compared loneliness to smoking and spoke of a 30 percent increase in the risk of premature death.
After all, over the years many international research centers have observed the consequences of feeling alone on people’s well-being. Attention, not only are we not talking about chosen loneliness, but about chronic loneliness. It goes without saying that we all feel lonely at times. However, we are talking about that condition which makes it difficult for us to meet other people for various reasons and which psychologists and psychiatrists define as a public health emergency. In the United States, loneliness kills.
EKnown effects of loneliness on mental health
Its devastating impact on mental well-being has been widely known for decades. There are many studies that confirm that it increases the risk of depression, anxiety and stress. Now research is starting to show that it also harms physical health. The topic was brought to the fore this week after several researchers said that loneliness ages people faster than cigarette smoking.
You will age faster than even smokers
Being lonely and unhappy can make you age faster of those who smoke cigarettes. The confirmation came from a study by Stanford University in the USA and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. According to the researchers, the negative emotional effects of social isolation quickened people’s biological clocks more than cigarettes. It was found that feeling lonely, miserable and hopeless was equivalent to a year and eight months longer than someone who is not alone and does not smoke. The most striking fact, however, is that people age five months more than those who smoke.
The Stanford and Hong Kong research
Experts believe that thechronic inflammation, caused by being unhappy, damages vital cells and organs. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal Aging-US. The researchers analyzed data from 12,000 Chinese adults. Using blood samples, surveys and medical data, the experts generated an aging model to predict the biological age of the participants. We all have a chronological age, which is the amount of time we’ve been physically alive.
The work team compared the participants by age and gender to determine which ones were aging faster. The results speak for themselves. Lonely people have higher levels of inflammation and anxiety than others. In addition, they have a more sedentary lifestyle and eat worse.
Effects of loneliness on health: increases the risk of dementia by up to 40%
Loneliness has also been linked to dementia. A Florida State University study suggested it could increase your chances of getting dementia by about 40 percent. People just have a higher risk of depression, cardiovascular disease and exercise less. These are three conditions that make the chances of developing a form of dementia soar.
The role of cortisol
High levels of cortisol, the stress hormone, have been linked to memory problems and wear and tear on the part of the brain associated with remembering. The research, published in Journal of Gerontlogy in 2020, it tracked nearly 12,000 people over 10 years. Here too the results speak for themselves. Lonely people are more likely to develop dementia than less lonely individuals.
Doubles the risk of type 2 diabetes
Loneliness could double a person’s risk of developing the type 2 diabetes, because, according to experts, it can create a “state of lasting discomfort”. Scientists believe that such distress can activate the body’s response to stress. High cortisol levels cause temporary insulin resistance.
What happens in the pancreas?
When people eat carbohydrates, the food is broken down into blood sugar. This tells the pancreas to release insulin, which allows glucose to enter the body’s cells. Over time having high blood sugar levels can cause insulin resistance. Since insulin is no longer as good at breaking down sugars, it causes the body to produce more and more of it. At this point the pancreas goes haywire and is no longer able to lower blood sugar levels.
Norwegian research
A group of Norwegian researchers analyzed the health information of more than 24,000 people. Nearly 1,200 developed type 2 diabetes. The findings were published this week in the scientific journal Diabetes, the news outlet of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes. Experts have shown that higher levels of loneliness were strongly associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Lonely people had twice the risk of developing the disease compared to non-lonely people.
Effects of loneliness on health: aincreases the chances of heart disease and stroke by a third
Ensuring people are less lonely could also help reduce the risk of cardiovascular problems, such as stroke. A team of British researchers found that having poor social connections increases the likelihood of coronary heart disease by 29 per cent and stroke by 32 per cent. A previous study had already linked theincreased risk of heart attack to loneliness.
Stress and inflammation, two side effects of loneliness, are always at the root of increased risk. Researchers at the University of York looked at 23 studies on the subject. Their report was published in the scientific journal Heart.
Associated with higher levels of obesity
Researchers have shown that loneliness can be as big a health risk asobesity. Others have explained that it’s easier to gain weight if you feel lonely. Understandably, people become lazier and indulge in the pleasures of so-called comfort food, usually high in saturated fat, sugar and salt. Here the matter is more complex, because it has not been understood whether obese people tend to isolate themselves or whether isolation increases the risk of gaining weight.
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