Social isolation and loneliness may increase the risk of death from stroke by 32 per cent, new research from the American Heart Association (AHA) has found.
The risk of social isolation increases with age, as the elderly tend to be left alone due to factors such as widowhood and retirement. Nearly a quarter of US adults who over the age of 65 are socially isolated and between 22-47 per cent are lonely.
According to AHA, social isolation is defined as having “few or infrequent social contacts,” while loneliness refers to “perceived isolation that is distressing for the individual”.
Although they are related, the two are distinct and operate through different pathways, having unique downstream effects on health.
Social isolation and loneliness have increased during the pandemic, as people were forced into lockdown.
The researchers examined the relationship among social isolation and cardiovascular and brain health and found that social isolation and loneliness are common, but under-recognised determinants of cardiovascular and brain health.
The study showed a link between a lack of social connection and increased risk of premature death from all causes, especially among men, suggesting that those less socially connected were more likely to experience the physiological symptoms of chronic stress.
“Research has clearly demonstrated that social isolation and loneliness are both associated with adverse health outcomes,” said Crystal Wiley Cené, professor of clinical medicine and chief administrative officer for health equity, diversity and inclusion at the University of California San Diego Health.
“Given the prevalence of social disconnectedness across the US, the public health impact is quite significant.”
According to the study, social isolation and loneliness are associated with a 29 per cent increase in the risk of death by heart attack and/or heart disease and 32 per cent increase in the risk of stroke and death by stroke.
The prognosis of heart disease and stroke patients is also negatively impacted by social isolation and loneliness, with socially isolated people with heart disease having a two- to three-fold increase in death during a six-year follow-up study.
Additionally, socially isolated adults with three or fewer social contacts per month could have a 40 per cent increased risk of recurrent stroke or heart attack.
While the findings found an increased risk of worse outcomes among heart disease and stroke patients who are socially isolated or lonely, the researchers stressed that these studies “do not suggest causality and associations may be mediated by other factors that need to be further tested.”
“There is strong evidence linking social isolation and loneliness with increased risk of worse heart and brain health in general,” Cené explained.
“However, the data on the association with certain outcomes, such as heart failure, dementia and cognitive impairment, is sparse.”
