Apostolos Vamvouras By Stephen Beech via SWNS Loneliness increases the risk of a stroke for older people, warns a new study. Researchers found that those over the age of 50 who suffered chronic loneliness had a 56% higher risk of a stroke than those who consistently reported not being lonely. Study lead author Dr.
Yenee Soh, of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health , said: “Loneliness is increasingly considered a major public health issue.
"Our findings further highlight why that is. “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.” Previous studies have linked loneliness to a higher risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, but few have examined the impact on stroke risk specifically.
The new study is one of the first to examine the association between loneliness changes and stroke risk over time. (Photo by Teona Swift via Pexels) Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) from 2006 to 2018, the research team assessed the association between changes in loneliness and stroke incidence over time. From 2006 to 2008, 12,161 participants - all adults aged 50 and above who had never had a stroke—responded to questions on the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale, from which the researchers created loneliness scores.
Four years later, 8,936 participants who remained in the study responded to the same ques.
