An interesting article appears in Current Directions in Psychological Science titled Aging and Loneliness: Downhill Quickly? by Louise C. Hawkley and John T. Cacioppo (2007, vol. 16, no. 4, pages 187-191). You can view the article via this URL http://psychology.uchicago.edu/people/faculty/cacioppo/jtcreprints/agingandloneliness.pdf.
The article mentions:
“….sociodemographic changes in American society indicate a disturbing trend toward increased social isolation. General Social Survey respondents in 2004 were three times more likely than respondents in 1985 to report having no one with whom to discuss important matters. The modal respondent reported three confidants in 1985 and no confidants in 2004. As social isolation becomes more prevalent, so does loneliness.”
An interesting figure is presented in the paper showing individual differences in the age related declines in physiological resilence. There are several pathways which can contribute which include adverse impact on health behaviors, exposure to stressors, effects on coping processes, the stress response, and the influence on restorative processes like sleep.
A mention is made of some studies which showed a lonely group had a slightly higher body mass index. A mention is made that lonely individuals reported a greater number of chronic stressors in one study. A mention is made that lonely individuals over the median age of 57 in one study attended religions groups more often than non-lonely individuals. A mention is made that in a sample of 50 to 68 year olds the lonely adults had a higher systolic blood pressure. A mention is made of a study in young adults which showed over a period of 1 week in lonely individuals a greater activation of the HPA axis. Another study showed a greater cortisol response upon wakening in middle age adults.
The article mentions:
“Impairments in HPA regulation across the adult years could play a particularly important role in the development of glucocorticoid insensitivity (a compromising of the normal feedback mechanism in which increasing levels of cortisol turn off the release of yet more cortisol) and impairments in the regulation of inflammatory processes, thereby accelerating the rate of decline in physiological resilience among lonely individuals.”
The article ends by saying:
“Given the aging of the population, the increases in the prevalence of social isolation, and the rising costs of health care, it is imperative that we gain a better understanding of the means by which loneliness influences health and well-being.”
I find this study to be interesting and I would encourage you to seek out support and friends in your community and neighborhoods. More work needs to be done to buck the trend and make sure people have confidants to whom they can talk to and relate with.
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