Loneliness might increase the risk of dementia
Researchers found that
people who described themselves as lonely were twice as likely to develop
dementia as
those who were not lonely.
In fact, among over 800
80-year-olds, the risk of developing dementia increased about 51 percent for each one-point increase on the
loneliness scale. What’s interesting, though, is that brain deposits that
normally develop in Alzheimer’s patients were not seen among those who were
lonely, indicating that the emotion triggers dementia through a different
mechanism such as higher levels of stress hormones,
cancer or high blood pressure (all of which are more likely to occur in lonely
people).
Other studies have also
shown that being socially isolated can cause health problems, including weakening
your immune system.
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