Summary: Loneliness, a feeling of distress caused by a lack of socialization, is among the significant contributors to chronic ailments like obesity, chronic pain, depression, sleep disorders, and substance abuse disorders. Now, one of the new studies shows that loneliness may increase stroke risk by 56%.
Wrong dietary choices and a sedentary lifestyle are among the top 2 causes of chronic diseases. However, there are many other reasons. The epidemic of chronic ailments cannot be explained based on just two of these factors.
Other contributing factors are insufficient sleep, declining mental and brain health, social isolation and loneliness, and more. It is vital to understand the role of each of these factors in chronic health issues. It is vital to understand how various factors increase the risk of obesity, heart disease, dementia, mental health issues, and more.
One of the lesser-discussed risk factors for chronic ailments is loneliness. Loneliness is a feeling of distress and pain due to less contact with other humans. Or it occurs due to social isolation. It is also vital to differentiate between social isolation and loneliness. Loneliness is an emotional response that increases the risk of chronic ailments. However, this response occurs due to a lack of socialization, but not essentially and not always.
Loneliness increases the risk of various psychiatric and brain disorders. Thus, those suffering from loneliness are more likely to experience sleep problems, depression, dementia, and even metabolic disorders like diabetes. Loneliness even increases the risk of immune dysfunction, causing issues like lupus and rheumatoid arthritis.
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Loneliness increases the risk of obesity, binge eating, hypertension, and much more. Studies also show that loneliness is among the most significant causes of alcohol abuse. However, it is not only that, as loneliness increases addiction risk to various substances and reduces stress resilience.
All this means that loneliness is also among the significant causes of painful conditions. It means that those suffering from loneliness are also more likely to develop chronic pain. Consequently, these individuals are also much more likely to engage in self-harm or end their lives with suicide.
Here, it is vital to understand how different harmful factors are interrelated, with one increasing the risk of another. For example, loneliness increases the risk of obesity, mental health issues, and pain. However, those living in pain are also more likely to be socially isolated and experience loneliness.
So, multiple factors are increasing the risk of chronic health issues. This explains why dietary measures and exercise may not always help. Moreover, those experiencing loneliness and mental health issues are less likely to stick to lifestyle changes.
Now, one of the new studies published in one of the highly reputed journals, eClinicalMedicine (The Lancet), shows that loneliness can significantly increase stroke risk.
This study analyzed the data of 12,161 individuals for stroke risk over a 10-12 year period. The study divided these individuals into different groups, such as those experiencing significant loneliness and those not experiencing much loneliness. They found that loneliness increased stroke risk by as much as 56%.
Here, it is also vital to understand that they adjusted their data for depression and social isolation. Since loneliness is an emotional response, a feeling of distress, it is different from social isolation. Not all people lacking social contact have the feeling of loneliness. On the other hand, many living in families may also experience loneliness as they might not be satisfied with their relationships and the quality of social contacts. Differentiating between social isolation and loneliness helps understand the complexity of the issues.
Finally, all this highlights the importance of a multidimensional approach, such as an interventional pain management clinic in St. Louis, to prevent and manage chronic health issues like depression, chronic pain, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Therefore, apart from exercise and dietary measures, one should consider improving sleep, countering loneliness, and more.
Source:
Soh, Y., Kawachi, I., Kubzansky, L. D., Berkman, L. F., & Tiemeier, H. (2024). Chronic loneliness and the risk of incident stroke in middle and late adulthood: A longitudinal cohort study of U.S. older adults. eClinicalMedicine, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102639
