Daily loneliness significantly impacts physical health in middle-aged adults, leading to increased symptoms like headaches and nausea. Variability in loneliness correlates with higher symptom severity, emphasizing the need for stable social connections.
By Dr. Liji Thomas, MDReviewed by Benedette Cuffari, M.Sc.Jun 17 2024 A recent study published in the journal Health Psychology examines the impact of daily loneliness on physical health in middle age.
Loneliness is a significant health concern, particularly among affected adults during midlife and old age. Loneliness has been associated with an increased risk of depression, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. The average daily loneliness, the difference in loneliness on successive days, and the degree of stable loneliness were also assessed. These factors were compared with the number and severity of symptoms experienced by each study participant.
Loneliness variability also includes stability, which reflects how much loneliness changes across successive periods. This could indicate short-term instability over time, which is associated with poorer mental health and less movement towards social goals. Little is known about how these aspects of loneliness variability affect physical health.
When loneliness scores exceeded mean loneliness, physical symptoms increased by 1.32 for every SD. Those who reported higher fluctuations in loneliness over a period of eight days were more symptomatic. With increased average loneliness and above-average instability, symptom severity also increased. Each aspect of loneliness, including mean loneliness, loneliest days, or greatly fluctuating loneliness, showed distinctive interactions with the number and severity of physical symptoms. The highest association was observed among people with the greatest variability in daily loneliness.
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