There’s a loneliness epidemic going on out there. Brought into stark relief by the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have renewed their focus on how feelings of social isolation can have effects that go beyond our mental health. Now, according to new research published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, these effects can extend to the heart, increasing the risk of valvular heart disease.
Cardiologists from the American Heart Association reviewed data from around 463,000 adults enrolled in the United Kingdom Biobank, a massive long-term study that collects an assortment of information on participants, including reports of loneliness and social isolation. After tracking their health for almost 14 years, they found that those with the highest level of loneliness had a higher risk of developing several different kinds of valvular heart disease. Interestingly, unlike previous research, they found no association between social isolation and valvular heart disease.
What’s the difference between the two? Whereas loneliness is a “subjective, distressing perception of being socially disconnected,” social isolation is an objective measure of social connection. Loneliness reflects the gap between your social life and what you desire it to be, social isolation just refers to the size of your social circle. It’s possible to live alone, with few social connections and feel socially fulfilled, just as it’s possible to be a social butterfly and feel deeply isolated.
Read more: “The Costs of Feeling Lonely in a Crowd”
But why do lonely people have a higher risk of valvular heart disease? The researchers listed a few possible reasons. First, loneliness predisposes people to depression, creating a psychological barrier that can make them less likely to seek out care. Loneliness is also associated with unhealthy habits like excessive drinking and smoking, as well as other lifestyle factors like obesity, poor sleep, and a lack of exercise.
While these lifestyle factors explained some of the increased risk for valvular heart disease in the study, they didn’t explain all of it. That’s because loneliness by itself can have physiological effects that exacerbate heart valve problems, including elevated inflammation as well as high cholesterol and atherosclerosis (admittedly, in studies of mice).
The flip side is that alleviating loneliness can have physiological benefits. “Our results suggest that addressing loneliness could help delay disease progression, postpone surgical interventions such as valve replacement, and ultimately reduce the long-term clinical and economic burden of valvular heart disease,” study co-author Cheng Wei explained in a statement.
Modern life may seem determined to tear us apart, but making and maintaining meaningful connections could be as important as exercising and eating right as we age. We’re all going to get older eventually, we might as well do it together. 
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Lead image: Jorm Sangsorn / Adobe Stock
