Can Loneliness Raise the Risk of Stroke? Study Finds Link Between the Two Here's what you need to know about the connection between loneliness and stroke, as well as ways to reduce feelings of loneliness
A new study found that chronic loneliness may raise the risk of stroke among older adults
- New research found a link between chronic loneliness and an increased risk of stroke among adults over age 50.
- More research is necessary to understand how loneliness might raise the odds of developing a stroke, which occurs when the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the brain is restricted.
- Experts say that identifying and acknowledging loneliness is the first step toward reducing these feelings.
Chronic loneliness may increase the risk of stroke among older adults, according to a recent study published in eClinicalMedicine.
Specifically, Harvard University researchers found that older Americans who reported feeling chronically lonely over four years were 56% more likely to have a stroke in the next 10 to 12 years.
In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy warned about an epidemic of loneliness and isolation facing the country. About three in 10 older adults sometimes feel lonely, while one in twenty report feeling lonely very often, according to the National Poll on Healthy Aging.
Studies have linked loneliness to worsening mental and cardiovascular health in older adults, but few studies have specifically focused on the relationship between loneliness and stroke.
“Our findings suggest that individuals who experience chronic loneliness are at higher risk” of stroke, Yenee Soh, ScD, a research associate at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health who led the study, told Health. “It is important to routinely assess loneliness, as the consequences may be worse if unidentified and/or ignored.”
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The Connection Between Loneliness and Stroke
The researchers used data collected from 12,161 participants over 50 enrolled in the Health and Retirement Study, longitudinal research surveying a nationally representative group of about 20,000.
Between 2006 and 2010, the participants completed the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, which measures feelings of loneliness and social isolation.
“Loneliness is commonly perceived as a subjective experience, reflected as the gap between desired and available relationships,” Soh said. “Social isolation, on the other hand, typically refers to the lack of social contact with others.”
Between 2010 and 2012, the 8,936 participants who remained in the study filled out the loneliness assessment again. Those who scored above six on the assessment were considered to have a high level of loneliness.
The researchers tracked the participants until 2018. During that time, 1,237 participants had a stroke, which occurs when the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the brain is restricted.
When it came to people who filled out only one assessment, the researchers discovered that having a high level of loneliness at baseline was associated with a 25% higher risk of stroke than scoring low on the assessment.
“A one-unit increase in the loneliness score was associated with a 5% higher risk of stroke,” Soh added.
Of the participants who completed two loneliness assessments, those who reported consistently high levels of loneliness had 56% higher odds of developing a stroke compared to people with consistently low levels.
The researchers controlled for race, gender, depressive symptoms, socioeconomic factors, social isolation, and other health factors.
“I think it’s a very good study,” Dan Blazer, MD, MPH, a psychiatrist and emeritus professor at Duke University, who wasn’t involved in the study, told Health. The study is a “significant contribution” to the scientific literature because it looked at loneliness across two different time points, said Blazer, who also chaired the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report on loneliness in 2020.
The outcome of the study, that chronically lonely people have the highest risk of stroke, is an “important finding,” he added.
Limitations and Lingering Questions
The authors noted some limitations of the study, including that it involved only middle-aged and older adults in the U.S. Therefore, the results may not apply to younger individuals or those in other countries.
Observational studies are also prone to unmeasured variables that can impact the results. And the authors noted that they used an “arbitrary” cutoff to categorize participants as having high or low levels of loneliness.
“They only measured at two points in time, and who knows what happens in the intervals,” Blazer said.
Per the authors, scientists need to conduct more research to understand how loneliness might elevate the risk of stroke. They noted that loneliness may have a direct effect on behavior, mental health, or physiology in a way that elevates stroke risk.
“Loneliness can negatively impact cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune systems, which in turn can affect stroke risk,” Soh said.
More research is also necessary to understand the short-term and long-term impacts of loneliness and to find effective strategies to address them. “There have been studies about medications and about psychotherapy,” Blazer said. “I don’t think any of those have really shown conclusively that there are specific medical and psychiatric therapies that can benefit loneliness.”
How to Combat Loneliness
That said, experts said there are steps people can take to reduce loneliness—beginning with an exploration into their feelings.
“It may be helpful to take self-administered questionnaires that assess loneliness by oneself or when in a healthcare setting to first identify and acknowledge that one is feeling lonely,” she said.
Because loneliness is a highly subjective experience, seeking help to address your specific needs is important, Soh added.
Blazer and other experts also call for a local approach to addressing loneliness.
“I think this is something that individual communities and individual programs can work out ways to try to integrate people into the community better,” Blazer said. “Just encouraging individuals in our community to engage in some of the mental activities can be a big help.”
Reducing chronic loneliness may also require infrastructural changes in the community to ensure the environment supports social health and interconnectedness. Those changes could involve more support for developing so-called third places, such as cafes, libraries, and community centers, where people can socialize outside work.
If you’re feeling lonely, many local and national organizations, such as AARP Community Connections, Commit to Connect, and SAGEConnect, help older adults combat loneliness.
Research also suggests that volunteering can reduce these feelings in older adults and is associated with many other physical and mental health benefits.
This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Simon Spichak
