Loneliness Weighs Heavily on the Heart

Loneliness Weighs Heavily on the Heart - CME Teaching Brief - MedPage Today: "Explain to patients that this study suggests that increasing social connectedness may reduce elevated blood pressure to a similar degree as losing weight and exercising.
Point out however that the study design prevents any inferences concerning causality.
Review
CHICAGO - Loneliness may be as bad for the heart as being overweight or inactive, researchers here suggested.
Middle-age and older adults reporting the greatest degree of loneliness had blood pressure levels 10 mm Hg to 30 mm/Hg higher on average than those who were least lonely, found psychologist Louise C. Hawkley, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago, and colleagues.
The magnitude of the effect of loneliness on blood pressure is comparable to the magnitude of reduction that can be achieved through weight loss and exercise, said Dr. Hawkley and Jarett D. Berry, M.D., a cardiology fellow at Northwestern, in the March issue of Psychology and Aging. "