Loneliness "Makes Molecular Noise" ...

Chronic loneliness is bad for your health

By: Jigyasa Jyotika /The Daily Cardinal

Scientists say isolation decreases immune response and increases risk of disease.

Eric Hoffer, an acclaimed American social writer during the late 1950s through early 1970s, once wrote, “It is loneliness that makes the loudest noise.”

Last month, a group led by UCLA scientists discovered loneliness can also wreak havoc at the molecular level.

While everyone feels lonely from time to time, researchers say incessant feelings of loneliness can significantly weaken one’s immune system and lower defenses against a variety of diseases.

“This pilot study provides the first indication that gene expression is altered in human beings who experience chronic social isolation,” said Louise Hawkley, a research scientist at the University of Chicago and co-author of the study.

The study showed that DNA from the immune cells of those with chronic loneliness differs from the DNA of healthy patients. According to researchers, the difference in DNA between the groups predisposed the chronically lonely to an increased risk of developing heart disease, viral infections and cancer.

Researchers evaluated participants’ feelings of loneliness through a survey, where they were rated high on the loneliness index if they responded positively to statements such as “I’m alone in the world” and “There’s no one I can count on.” Each participant’s loneliness was assessed based on his or her interpretation of feelings of loneliness, regardless of the number of people involved in the participant’s life.

Based upon their responses to the loneliness questions, the UCLA team ranked the male and female participants from most lonely to least lonely and compared the white blood cells of eight people who scored in the top 15th percentile of loneliness and six who scored in the bottom 15th percentile.

To compare the DNA in the white blood cells of lonely and healthy participants, scientists used DNA microarrays, a method that enables researchers to sift through the genetic information of cells. Microarray analysis revealed more than 200 genetic differences between the two groups.

According to Louise Hawkley, a research scientist at the University of Chicago and co-author of the study, genes responsible for the body’s inflammatory response were “over-expressed in lonely individuals but those involved in anti-viral responses and antibody protection [were suppressed].”

“The differential pattern of gene expression indicates a systematic amplification of inflammatory and immune responses that could potentially mediate the increased risk of inflammatory disease in socially isolated human beings,” Hawkley said.

According to the results of the UCLA study, the differences in gene expression between lonely and healthy participants were independent of other known risk factors for inflammation such as health, age, weight and medication use. The changes were also independent of the objective size of the social network of the subject.

Researchers agree these findings provide a molecular framework to explain how social factors are linked to an increased risk of disease.

“The study uses cutting edge technology and shows that genes are not hard-wired,” said Jack Nitschke, a UW-Madison assistant professor of psychiatry and psychology. “[Gene] expression is turned on or off in response to environmental events.”

While the loneliness study may help researchers block the adverse health effects of social isolation in the future, this study represents only the first of many necessary steps in the right direction.