Loneliness increases heart disease risk in women

A recent study has found a link between social isolation and loneliness, and an increase in heart disease risk in postmenopausal women. The study, which has been published in the JAMA Network Open Journal, has found that there is an almost 27 per cent increase in heart disease risk in women who experience high levels of loneliness.
Findings revealed that social isolation and loneliness independently increased cardiovascular disease risk by eight per cent and five per cent, respectively. If women experienced high levels of both, their risk rose 13 per cent to 27 per cent compared to women who reported low levels of social isolation and low levels of loneliness.
First author Natalie Golaszeweski at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science at the University of California San Diego, said, “We are social beings. In this time of Covid-19, many people are experiencing social isolation and loneliness, which may spiral into chronic states. It is important to further understand the acute and long-term effects these experiences have on cardiovascular health and overall well-being.” Senior author John Bellettiere at the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health, said, “Social isolation is about physically being away from people, like not touching or seeing or talking to other people. Loneliness is a feeling, one that can be experienced even by people who are regularly in contact with others.”
When researchers included all health behaviours and conditions in their study and adjusted for diabetes and depression, high social isolation and loneliness remained strongly linked with increased risk for heart disease.