Middle-age and older adults with long-term loneliness are at higher risk of stroke than those who do not report being lonely, according to a new study published in the journal eClinicalMedicine on Monday. Researchers found the risk of stroke among lonely adults was higher regardless of co-existing depressive symptoms or feelings of social isolation. "Loneliness is increasingly considered a major public health issue.
Our findings further highlight why that is," lead author Yenee Soh, a research associate in the department of social and behavioral sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a press release.
"Especially when experienced chronically, our study suggests loneliness may play an important role in stroke incidence, which is already one of the leading causes of long-term disability and mortality worldwide," Soh continued. SEE ALSO: US surgeon general warns about the dangers of loneliness Those who experienced situational loneliness -- a temporary loneliness due to a change in circumstances -- did not have an increased stroke risk, suggesting that the impact of loneliness on stroke risk occurs in the long term, according to the study. The study used data from the University of Michigan's Health and Retirement Study (HRS) survey that followed nearly 9,000 stroke-free adults who were aged 50 or older for 10 to 12 years.
Results showed those who experienced chronic loneliness had a 56% higher risk of stroke than those who consistently reported not being .
