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<\/div>Loneliness is associated with multiple health conditions<\/p>\n
Marc Bruxelle RF \/ Alamy<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n
The idea that loneliness leads to certain health conditions is now being called into question. Although loneliness is associated<\/a> with a range of negative physical health outcomes, including an increased risk of premature death<\/a>, it might just be correlated with many of the conditions it was previously assumed to cause.<\/p>\n \u201cLoneliness seems to act as more of an indicator of disease rather than a direct cause,\u201d says Jihui Zhang<\/a> at Guangzhou Medical University. \u201cInstead, socioeconomic factors, lifestyle choices and genetic predisposition might be driving risk for diseases like diabetes and heart diseases.\u201d<\/p>\n Social connection is essential to our mental health and ability to thrive. Yet loneliness \u2013 the painful feeling that arises from social disconnection \u2013 affects a growing number<\/a> of people around the world.<\/p>\n To learn more about how this affects health, Zhang and his colleagues analysed data from several biomedical databases, including the medical information of 476,100 people in the UK, 16,000 in China and 14,000 in the US. They found that participants who reported feelings of loneliness were at a higher risk of 30 out of 56 individual conditions, ranging from cancers to digestive system conditions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Then the researchers performed a second round of statistical analysis on 26 of those 30 conditions, focusing on the subset of participants whose genetic data was available. The results revealed that most of the conditions were not, in fact, caused by loneliness. These health problems, including cardiovascular disease, obesity and type 2 diabetes, merely occurred alongside loneliness. But loneliness could still potentially play some role in causing six of the conditions: depression, hypothyroidism, asthma, sleep apnea, substance abuse and hearing loss.<\/p>\n According to Yu He<\/a>, also at Guangzhou Medical University, the findings have important implications for real-world interventions. \u201cAddressing loneliness is important, but it\u2019s not the only factor in preventing diseases,\u201d she says. \u201cPublic health authorities should also focus on improving mental health services and promoting healthy lifestyles.\u201d<\/p>\n