Heartbeat: Lonely Hearts

Loneliness and social isolation are associated with an increased risk of premature mortality. This association is related to several factors including behaviors (such as smoking or physical inactivity), reduced psychological well-being, and adverse physiological changes (such as altered immune function and hypertension). In order to better define the magnitude of risk for incident cardiovascular disease attributable to loneliness and social isolation, Valtorta and colleagues (see page 1009) performed a meta-analysis of 16 longitudinal databases with a total of 4628 coronary heart disease (CHD) events and 3002 strokes over 3 to 21 years of follow-up. This analysis showed that loneliness and social isolation were associated with a 29% increased risk of CHD (figure 1) and 32% increased risk of stroke, with no differences by gender. While acknowledging that causality cannot be inferred from an association study, the authors suggest that "tackling loneliness and isolation may be...
Source: Heart - Category: Cardiology Authors: Tags: Drugs: cardiovascular system, Hypertension, Acute coronary syndromes, Epidemiology, Tobacco use Heartbeat Source Type: research