Socially isolated and lonely individuals face increased risk for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke compared to those with personal networks, according to new research published online March 27 in Heart. Those with a history of AMI and stroke are also at an increased risk for death.
“The main finding of this UK Biobank study of 479,054 participants followed for over seven years is that persons reporting social isolation and loneliness had 1.4-fold to 1.5-fold increased risk of incident AMI or stroke,” wrote Christian Hakulinen, PhD, with the University of Helsinki in Finland, and colleagues. “However, approximately 85 percent of this excess risk was attributable to known risk factors such as obesity, smoking, low education and pre-existing chronic illness.”
Researchers sought to examine whether social isolation and loneliness could cause AMI or stroke among individuals with no history of either incident, if there was an increase in mortality for those who have a history of AMI or stroke, and if the associations could be explained by known risk factors or pre-existing chronic conditions.
The researchers surveyed the cohort about their social lives, loneliness, medical history and lifestyle. They also measured the cohort’s height, weight, BMI and grip strength.
During follow-up after a seven-year period, the researchers found more than 12,000 participants had died—5,731 had AMI and 3,471 had stroke. Of those who died during follow-up, 16 percent had AMI and 24 percent had stroke.
Results of the follow-up determined isolation and loneliness significantly raised a person’s risk of cardiovascular problems.
Isolation was associated with a 43 percent greater risk of first-time AMI and a 39 percent greater risk of first-time stroke. Loneliness was associated with a 49 percent greater risk for first-time AMI and 36 percent for first-time stroke.
After adjusting for biological, health and socioeconomic risk factors, isolation only increased the risk of AMI and stroke by 7 and 6 percent, respectively. Loneliness increased the risk of AMI and stroke by 6 and 4 percent, respectively.
In people with preexisting chronic conditions, social isolated increased an individual’s chance of AMI by 25 percent and increased the chance of stroke by 32 percent.
“Social isolation and loneliness can be seen as markers for many conventional risk factors—such as unhealthy lifestyles, poor mental health and socioeconomic adversity—and these risk factors also explain the association of social isolation and loneliness with cardiovascular morbidity,” the authors wrote.
This observational study may allow public health policies to address conventional risk factors to reduce cardiovascular deaths associated to social isolation and loneliness. Additionally, physicians may benefit from educational programs that address the health risks associated with social isolation and loneliness. They could promote prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease in those with poor personal networks.
As a senior news writer for TriMed, Subrata covers cardiology, clinical innovation and healthcare business. She has a master’s degree in communication management and 12 years of experience in journalism and public relations.