Loneliness and cardiovascular health

Loneliness is associated with cardiovascular health outcomes. Continue scrolling to read key resources on the relationship between loneliness and cardiovascular health.

 

Sonderlund et al. (2019)

Should social disconnectedness be included in primary-care screening for cardiometabolic disease? A systematic review of the relationship between everyday stress, social connectedness, and allostatic load.

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Primary finding: Among 20 studies allostatic load (i.e., the wear and tear on the body due to chronic stress) was negatively associated with social connectedness. Several moderators of this relationship were identified, including gender, social status, and quality of social ties. The negative association between social connectedness and various chronic diseases can thus, at least partially, be explained by the buffering qualities of social connectedness against allostatic load. The authors argue that assessing social connectedness in clinical and epidemiological settings may therefore represent a considerable asset in terms of prevention and intervention.


Li et al. (2020)

The role of oxidative stress in cardiovascular disease caused by social isolation and loneliness.

Literature Review

Primary finding: Loneliness and social isolation lead to activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis, enhanced sympathetic nerve activity, impaired parasympathetic function and a proinflammatory immune response. These mechanisms have been implicated in the development of cardiovascular disease conferred by social isolation although a causal relationship has not been established so far. There is evidence that oxidative stress is likely to be a key molecular mechanism linking chronic psychosocial stress to cardiovascular disease.


Gorji et al. (2019)

The impact of perceived and objective social isolation on hospital readmission in patients with heart failure: A systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies

Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Primary finding: From 13 studies, social isolation was associated with a 55% greater risk of hospital readmission in patients with heart failure. Analysis did not show a significant difference in the rate of hospital readmission between perceived and objective social isolation.


Xia et al. (2018)

Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Cardiovascular Health

Systematic Review

Primary finding: Population-based studies have demonstrated that both objective social isolation and the perception of social isolation (loneliness) are correlated with a higher risk of mortality and that both are clearly risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Molecular mechanisms responsible for the increased cardiovascular risk are poorly understood. In recent reports, loneliness and social stress were associated with activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis and the sympathetic nervous system. Repeated and chronic social stress leads to glucocorticoid resistance, enhanced myelopoiesis, upregulated proinflammatory gene expression, and oxidative stress. However, the causal role of these mechanisms in the development of loneliness-associated CVD remains unclear.


Valtorta et al. (2016)

Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke: systematic review and meta-analysis of longitudinal observational studies

Systematic Review

Primary finding: Findings suggest that deficiencies in social relationships are associated with an increased risk of developing CHD and stroke. Future studies are needed to investigate whether interventions targeting loneliness and social isolation can help to prevent two of the leading causes of death and disability in high-income countries.


Hodgson et al. (2020)

Loneliness, social isolation, cardiovascular disease and mortality: a synthesis of the literature and conceptual framework

Systematic Review

Primary finding: A total of 122 articles were included. These collated observational designs examining mediators and moderations of the association in addition to qualitative studies exploring potential mechanisms were included. A framework incorporating 18 discrete factors implicated in the association between loneliness, social isolation and mortality was developed. Factors were categorised into societal or individual, and sub-categorised into biological, behavioural and psychological. These findings emphasise the complex multidirectional relationship between loneliness, social isolation and mortality.