Social isolation was associated with about a 50% increased risk of dementia. Poor social relationships (characterized by social isolation or loneliness) was associated with a 29% increased risk of heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke.
Research has linked social isolation and loneliness to higher risks for a variety of physical and mental conditions: high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease, and even death.
Numerous studies have shown that loneliness is a major risk factor for depression, with increased symptoms in both middle-aged and older adults. Socially isolated seniors are more likely to predict their quality of life will get worse, and are more concerned about needing help from community programs as they get older.
"Loneliness can change the neurochemistry of the brain, turning off the dopamine neurons, which trigger the reward response, and causing some degeneration in the brain when the reward response is not activated," says Katherine Peters, MD, PhD, FAAN, associate professor of neurology and neurosurgery at Duke University.
Feeling lonely can also have a negative impact on your mental health, especially if these feelings have lasted a long time. Some research suggests that loneliness is associated with an increased risk of certain mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, sleep problems and increased stress.
Drop in at the Local Senior Center (Virtually or In Person)
Senior centers, also called adult activity centers, are where many seniors go to socialize, take exercise classes, and learn new things. Give the ones in your area a call, or look them up online.
Loneliness is associated with ill-health
Yet, loneliness also impacts cognition and has been shown in longitudinal studies to predict cognitive decline (Shankar, Hamer, McMunn & Steptoe, 2013) and risk for Alzheimer's disease (Wilson et al., 2007).
What causes loneliness? There is not one single cause of loneliness. Loneliness can often be a result of life changes or circumstances that include living alone, changing your living arrangements, having financial problems, or death of a loved one.
Three profiles of people at particular risk from loneliness were identified: Widowed older homeowners living alone with long-term health conditions. Unmarried, middle-agers with long-term health conditions. Younger renters with little trust and sense of belonging to their area.
Biologists have shown that feelings of loneliness trigger the release of stress hormones that in turn are associated with higher blood pressure, decreased resistance to infection and increased risk of cardiovascular disease and cancer.
40% of respondents aged 16-24 reported feeling lonely often or very often, while only 29% of people aged 65-74 and 27% of people aged over 75 said the same6.
Older adults are at increased risk for loneliness and social isolation because they are more likely to face factors such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and hearing loss. Loneliness is the feeling of being alone, regardless of the amount of social contact.
Hawkley points to evidence linking perceived social isolation with adverse health consequences including depression, poor sleep quality, impaired executive function, accelerated cognitive decline, poor cardiovascular function and impaired immunity at every stage of life.
In the study, published online February 7 in Neurology, researchers found a 3-fold increase in risk of subsequent dementia among lonely Americans younger than 80 years old who would otherwise be expected to have a relatively low risk based on age and genetic risk factors.
Defining Chronic Loneliness
You experience feelings of isolation even when you're surrounded by other people or in large groups. It may feel like you're constantly on the outside looking in. You struggle with feeling like you're less than or not good enough.
Highlights. Loneliness was associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms at both time points. Social loneliness was longitudinally associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms. Emotional loneliness was longitudinally associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms.
For instance, loneliness is correlated with social anxiety, social inhibition (shyness), sadness, hostility, distrust, and low self-esteem, characteristics that hamper one's ability to interact in skillful and rewarding ways.
Loneliness affects people in different ways, and for this reason there are four distinct types of loneliness identified by psychologists: emotional, social, situational and chronic.