​When loneliness does not kill, it makes you sicker

By Ellie Liverani

eli.liverani.ra@gmail.com

Loneliness is on the rise in North Dakota, where there is one of the highest rates of people living alone. The challenging winter can be a major contributor, yet North Dakota is not alone. In the scientific literature, studies on loneliness come from all over the world, and they all report similar findings.

Loneliness is a feeling; therefore, it is hard to measure. It’s distinguished from solitude. There is a lack of interest in seeking human connections, rather than finding solace in being alone. It is prevalent in people who live alone and in the elderly, but it does not seem to be closely related to the number of family and friends we have around. Indeed, social isolation and loneliness do not completely overlap.

Nowadays, we can communicate with people around the globe at any time and in real time, so we would expect to feel less lonely. However, social media can be a major contributor to loneliness. In person, meaningful and intimate connections are as essential for human beings as food or water. Loneliness has been associated with mental illnesses such as depression and with neurodegenerative disorders like dementia. Whether we are depressed and then feel lonely, or it is the loneliness that triggers depression, is not clear. But they definitely feed each other when we experience both.

Loneliness is one of the leading causes of suicide, with a mortality risk comparable to smoking. But this is not the only way that loneliness can damage our bodies. Indeed, our feelings change our neurobiological system; therefore, we respond to our environment differently. It is linked to our behavior and psychology, but the nervous system is deeply connected to all the other organs and systems; consequently, our entire body is always exposed.

One study has shown that the increased stress experienced in loneliness and social isolation can trigger activation of our immune system. Our body reacts as if there is a danger coming from outside. This can weaken our protection from actual pathogens, such as bacteria or a virus. As a result, if our body encounters a virus, we have fewer resources to fight it.

This expands to autoimmune diseases. The feeling of loneliness was a contributor to developing rheumatoid arthritis. Other types of arthritis showed a similar trend. Similar findings were obtained on multiple sclerosis: an exacerbation of the disease was associated with loneliness and depression.

In addition, loneliness can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes among the prediabetic population. If you have a predisposition to develop diabetes, loneliness increases your chances. Whether we can develop diabetes just by loneliness without any genetic predisposition is still unclear. Alongside diabetes, stress also increases our risk of cardiovascular diseases.

Is there just correlation, or is it causation? We do not know. Loneliness indeed alters our behavior, and that could be the reason why we are more prone to develop certain diseases, but studies clearly show that it changes our biology. There is definitely more to discover. Is loneliness heritable? Apparently yes! There are genes associated with loneliness, and they can be different from the ones associated with social isolation. Some genes can be common with mental illnesses, but several genes regulate the immune system, confirming that loneliness affects all of our bodies.

We hear about the importance of learning how to be alone. Be self-sufficient. This is golden. Nonetheless, talking to our neighbors and finding good friends should be included in our treatment plan to be healthy humans.

Dr. Liverani is an assistant professor at the NDSU School of Pharmacy.