I want to tho
www.aginglifecarejournal.org
Thx for info buddy boyo it was genuinely helpful and interesting"Many potential mechanisms have been proposed to account for the relationships between social integration, perceived social support, and health outcomes. First of all, spending time with people who exhibit healthy habits may reinforce healthy behaviors, improve access to health-related information, better nutrition, more physical activity, transportation to health care providers, and even increase financial resources. Of course, peer relationships can easily lead to unhealthful behaviors or interpersonal stress as well, but in the literature pertaining to older adults, the health-promoting benefits of social relationships seems to outweigh the negative effects. (Cornwell & Waite, 2009) But changing health behaviors is likely not the only mechanism by which social contacts protect health and well-being.
Loneliness is known to be a major risk factor for depression, which itself accelerates functional decline and increases mortality rate. (Mehta et al., 2002) Even sub-clinical depression may increase risk of all-cause mortality. (Culjpers & Smit, 2002), so depression may have contributed to the increased mortality and cardiovascular diseases found in the loneliness cohorts of those studies cited previously. Depression may increase mortality and illness through several mechanisms. Depression can increase platelet aggregation through diminished serotonin function and thereby increase risk for myocardial infarction and stroke. There may also be increased heart rate variability (unstable autonomic nervous system) and increased release of adrenaline, both leading to increased risk of cardiac arrhythmia (Seymour & Benning, 2009). Whatever the mechanism, the effect of depression on mortality is significant in size. In a large cohort study (Cardiovascular Health Study), investigators found that depression increased mortality risk by 24% when they accounted for all important co-variables (Schultz et al., 2000).
Social isolation can have direct effects on cardiovascular disease risk factors. Perceived isolation and loneliness are associated with increased sympathetic nervous system activity, increased inflammation, and decreased sleep, all of which can accelerate brain and cardiovascular aging (Cacioppo, et al., 2011). Loneliness increases risk for dementia, likely through these mechanisms, however the absence of social interaction itself may also be a primary factor in that social stimulation can help maintain brain health (Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2009; Cacioppo et al., 2014). Grant and colleagues examined key metabolic risk factors for cardiovascular mortality, looking at blood pressure, lipids, and cortisol responses to stress. Using a measure of social integration (Close Persons Questionnaire), they found dysregulated blood pressure and cortisol responses to acute stress in people (238 middle-aged men and women) with few close friends. They also saw increased cholesterol in the socially isolated men, but not women. These physiologic changes increase risk of heart attacks and stroke. The authors note that these changes in cardiovascular risk factors in isolated individuals were independent of whether they expressed feelings of loneliness (Grant et al., 2009).
Finally, there is some evidence that loneliness can affect immune function, increasing susceptibility to infec-tion (Cohen S et al., 1997). Loneliness is also associated with disrupted sleep. Insomnia affects immune function, glucose regulation, cardiovascular risk, dementia risk, mood, and daytime function (Hawkley et al., 2010)"
Health Effects of Social Isolation and Loneliness – Aging Life Care Association™
