“Previous research has shown that loneliness and social isolation are linked with coronary heart disease and stroke, but this has not been investigated in patients with different types of cardiovascular diseases.”

The study investigated whether the poor social network was associated with worse outcomes in 13,463 patients with ischaemic heart disease, arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm), heart failure, or heart valve disease.

Data from national registers were linked with the DenHeart survey, which asked all patients discharged from April 2013 to April 2014 from five heart centers in Denmark to answer a questionnaire about their physical and mental health, lifestyle factors such as smoking and social support.

Social support was measured using registry data on living alone or not, and survey questions about feeling lonely – Do you have someone to talk to when you need it? Do you feel alone sometimes even though you want to be with someone? “It was important to collect information on both, since people may live alone but not feel lonely while others cohabit but do feel lonely,” explained Ms. Vinggaard Christensen. Feeling lonely was associated with poor outcomes in all patients regardless of their type of heart disease, and even after adjusting for age, level of education, other diseases, body mass index, smoking and alcohol intake.

Loneliness was associated with a doubled mortality risk in women and nearly doubled risk in men. Both men and women who felt lonely were three times more likely to report symptoms of anxiety and depression and had a significantly lower quality of life than those who did not feel lonely.

Ms. Vinggaard Christensen noted that people with poor social support may have worse health outcomes because they have unhealthier lifestyles, are less compliant with treatment, and are more affected by stressful events. But she said: “We adjusted for lifestyle behaviors and many other factors in our analysis, and still found that loneliness is bad for health.”

She concluded: “We live in a time when loneliness is more present and health providers should take this into account when assessing risk. Our study shows that asking two questions about social support provides a lot of information about the likelihood of having poor health outcomes.”

European guidelines on cardiovascular prevention state that people who are isolated or disconnected from others are at increased risk of developing and dying prematurely from coronary artery disease. The guidelines recommend an assessment of psychosocial risk factors in patients with established cardiovascular disease and those at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease.

The study has highlighted growing concerns about the issue and assumes great significance at places where loneliness is turning into a bane for victims due to lack of support system.

The study assumes significance and greater attention as the world marks the International Day of Older Persons on October 1, each year.

On December 14, 1990, the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons as recorded in Resolution 45/106.

The holiday was observed for the first time on October 1, 1991. The holiday is celebrated by raising awareness about issues affecting the elderly, such as senescence and elder abuse. It is also a day to appreciate the contributions that older people make to society. This holiday is similar to National Grandparents Day in the United States and Canada as well as Double Ninth Festival in China and Respect for the Aged Day in Japan.

“Little is known about how negative and traumatic life events affect obesity in women. We know that stress affects behaviour, including whether people under- or overeat, as well as neuro-hormonal activity by in part increasing cortisol production, which is related to weight gain,” said study senior author Michelle A. Albert, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine, cardiology, and founding director of the Center for the Study of Adversity and Cardiovascular Disease, at University of California, San Francisco.

Obesity, a preventable risk factor for cardiovascular and other diseases, impacts more than one-third of U.S. adults. According to the American Heart Association, nearly 70 percent of American adults are either overweight or obese. Women tend to live longer than men, putting especially obese, aging women at greater risk for disease, said study author Eva M. Durazo, Ph.D., a post-doctoral scholar at the NURTURE Center, Division of Cardiology, and UCSF said.

The researchers studied the relationship between major life events and obesity in a group of 21,904 middle-aged and older women, focusing on women with the highest obesity prevalence. They defined obesity as having a body mass index (BMI) of 30 kg/m2 or higher. And, they measured the impacts of two types of stress: traumatic events, which could occur anytime in a woman’s life and includes events as death of a child or being a victim of a serious physical attack, as well as negative life events that had occurred in the previous five years of a woman’s life. Negative events included wanting employment but being unemployed for longer than three months or being burglarized.

Sleep deprivation may increase risk of cardiovascular disease in older women Older women who don’t get enough sleep were more likely to have poor cardiovascular health, according to preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2017. In the new study  researchers considered sleeping at least two hours more during the weekend than on the weekday as a sign of being in state debt. Among the roughly 21,500 female health professionals between ages of 60 and 84 the research team followed, women who were in sleep debt were more likely to be obese and have hypertension. When taking into account socioeconomic status and sources of stress, such as negative life events and work-related stress that could also influence cardiovascular health, quality of sleep was still an important factor for good overall cardiovascular health. The results suggest that not getting enough sleep during the week might throw the body off and may increase risk of cardiovascular disease in older women.

NEARLY A QUARTER (23 PERCENT) OF THE WOMEN STUDIED WERE OBESE

Women who reported greater than one traumatic life event versus no traumatic life events had 11 percent increased odds of obesity;

The higher the number of negative life events reported by women in the last five years, the higher the tendency for increased odds of obesity. Specifically, women who reported four or more negative life events had a 36 percent higher risk of obesity, compared to women who reported no such events;

Among women who had higher levels of physical activity, there was a stronger association between increasing cumulative/chronic stress and obesity, though the reason for this finding remains uncertain.

“Our findings suggest that psychological stress in the form of negative and traumatic life events might represent an important risk factor for weight changes and, therefore, we should consider including assessment and treatment of psychosocial stress in approaches to weight management,” Albert said.

Because the study looks at the association between stressful events and obesity in a snapshot of time, future studies should look at the relationship longitudinally, following people for weight gain over time after life events have occurred, according to Albert.

“This is important work because women are living longer and are more at risk for chronic illnesses, such as cardiovascular disease. The potential public health impact is large, as obesity is related to increased risks of heart attack, stroke, diabetes and cancer, and contributes to spiraling healthcare costs,” Albert said.

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Read all the issues of InnoHEALTH magazine:
InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 1 (July to September 2016) – https://goo.gl/iWAwN2 
InnoHEALTH Volume 1 Issue 2 (October to December 2016) – https://goo.gl/4GGMJz 
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 1 (January to March 2017) – https://goo.gl/DEyKnw 
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 2 (April to June 2017) – https://goo.gl/Nv3eev
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 3 (July to September 2017) – https://goo.gl/MCVjd6
InnoHEALTH Volume 2 Issue 4 (October to December 2017) – http://amzn.to/2B2UMLw
InnoHEALTH Volume 3 Issue 1 (January to March 2018) – https://goo.gl/fksdQx

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