Unbelievable facts
A new study suggests that prolonged loneliness may increase blood pressure in middle-aged and older people. Researchers at the University of Chicago studied 229 people aged 50 to 68 and found that blood pressure begins to increase dramatically after four years of loneliness.
For the first time, the study demonstrates a link between loneliness and blood pressure, a relationship that is independent of age and other factors that can lead to increased blood pressure, including body mass index, smoking, alcohol consumption, and demographic differences such as race and income.
Experts also thought that depression and stress may be responsible for increased blood pressure, but they found that these factors do not fully explain the increase in pressure among single people 50 years of age or older. “Loneliness behaves like it's a unique risk factor that doesn't depend on anything else,” says Louise Hawkley in the article “Loneliness predicts an increase blood pressure”, published in the latest issue of Psychology and Aging.
Often referred to as a silent threat due to its few symptoms, high blood pressure undermines health in many ways. It increases the risk of heart attack and stroke, and impairs kidney function. Like blood pressure, loneliness isn't always easy to recognize. Hackley says that people with lots of friends and social networks can often feel lonely if they find their relationships unsatisfying. Conversely, people who lead a somewhat secluded lifestyle can feel great about socializing with the narrow circle of people around them.
The researchers randomly selected a group of people that included whites, African-Americans, and Hispanics and who became part of a long-term study on aging. At the beginning of the study, participants were asked to answer a series of questions that led to a conclusion about how lonely they felt. They were asked to evaluate interactions with others, choosing the appropriate statement from among the proposed statements: “I have a lot in common with people around me”, “My social relationships are very superficial “and “I can find communication when I need it.”
During five years of research, Huckley found a clear link between feelings of loneliness reported by some people at the start of the experiment and increased blood pressure during this period . “There were no changes for two years, but after four years, the pressure began to increase actively.” This relationship was seen even among people whose “degree” of loneliness was not high. Thus, the loneliest people, compared to the most socially happy, increased their blood pressure by 14 mm over a four-year period.
“Loneliness is characterized by a motivational impulse that pushes people to contact others, however, fear of negative evaluation, rejection and possible disappointment stops many,” continues Hackley. “We believe that a threat to our safety is a toxic component of loneliness, and exaggerating the social threat can contribute to changes in the physiological functioning of the body, in including leading to increased pressure.”