Loneliness Impacts How Genes and Immune System Respond, Study Finds

Lonely individuals get sick more often. At least this is what the pattern of gene expressions in people who experience chronically high levels of loneliness found by UCLA researchers seems to indicate. Previous research had linked how an individual's social environment affected his or her health, but this study, published in the Sept. 13 issue of Genome Biology, provides the first molecular framework and biological explanation for why.

Loneliness affects your genes

"What this study shows is that the biological impact of social isolation reaches down into some of our most basic internal processes: the activity of our genes." said the study's lead author Steve Cole, PhD., M.D., in a press release about the study. "We found that changes in immune cell gene expression were specifically linked to the subjective experience of social distance."

In layman's terms, the study suggests that an individual's feeling of social isolation directly influences his or her immune system, specifically the genes that drive inflammation. The observed findings were independent of other known risk factors, such as health status, age, weight, and medication use.

Big picture

Previous research confirms the long-term impact of loneliness on cardiac health, blood pressure, and viral diseases. The biomarker mapping provided by this study reveals that loneliness impacts immediate health as well, and that individuals who feel down in the dumps and that they are always sick, probably are as their body's ability to fight illness may be compromised.

Unfortunately, poor health and loneliness can be a self-perpetuating cycle. Sick individuals stay at home, or isolate themselves, which in turn makes them lonely. This study adds to the pre-existing literature about how social environmental influences impact health.