It doesn’t cause disease, but it makes your health worse.

Not everything is as it seems

The genetic information was analyzed using non-laboratory methods such as Mendelian randomization – the study of cause and effect between loneliness based on genetic variants already associated with it – and statistics. They also pointed out that loneliness is a possible cause of the other six diseases.

“Socioeconomic factors, health behaviors, core symptoms of depression and comorbidities largely explain the association between loneliness and disease,” the scientists describe.

They also stress that it is not always “observational evidence” that loneliness causes illness that can be considered genetic evidence, although they recognize that “maintaining meaningful social connection is fundamental to physical and mental health.”

Experts from Guangzhou Medical University also recognize that recent theoretical models suggest that loneliness can trigger or exacerbate biological or behavioral mechanisms such as stress response, increased levels of inflammation in the body, and decreased motivation that ultimately make the individual vulnerable to diseases. .

Are you sick because you feel lonely or just because you are sick?

In May 2023, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy stated that a “pandemic of loneliness” threatens public health. They believe this perception may be related to two factors: first, the lack of conclusive data regarding the genetic factors that cause many common diseases such as sleep apnea, for example.