Social isolation, loneliness increase heart disease risk in older women: Study

Feb 07, 2022

New Delhi, Feb 07 (ANI): A recent study has found that there is an almost 27 per cent increase in heart disease risk in postmenopausal women who experience both high levels of social isolation and loneliness. The study has been published in the 'JAMA Network Open Journal'. The findings of the prospective study revealed that social isolation and loneliness independently increased cardiovascular disease risk by 8 per cent and 5 per cent, respectively. Social isolation and loneliness are growing public health concerns as they are associated with health conditions that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease including obesity, smoking, physical inactivity, poor diet, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. When researchers included all of these 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, supporting the importance of studying these social conditions. Previous research indicates women experience more social isolation than men.