It is not good to live alone. While isolation was already known to play a negative role onpsychological state, it could also damage the health of our cells, according to researchers in hematology, psychology and neuroscience at the universities of California and Chicago (USA). Their study is published in the scientific journal PNAS.
An altered inflammatory response
Previous studies had already established a link between feelings of loneliness and pain, depression or fatigue. But this new work goes further: to carry out this research, the scientists measured the concentration of molecules linked to inflammatory reactions in blood samples from macaques and humans. Result: when the individual was isolated or expressed feelings of loneliness, the blood contained a greater quantity of inflammatory molecules. Loneliness could therefore have an effect on health because these molecules alter the functioning of cells in the long term, increasing the risk of chronic diseases and early mortality.
A link between loneliness and white blood cells
The observations go even further since it seems that the feeling of exclusion modifies the expression of certain genes, in particular those which code for the production of white blood cells. These cells play an essential role in the body’s defense and their alteration would therefore lead to an upheaval in the responses of the immune system. As a result, the body defends itself less well against the bacteria and viruses it may encounter. People who suffer from loneliness will therefore have a higher risk of reporting infections, which can range from the common cold to more serious chronic infections. These results are worrying because in France, more than five million people suffer from isolation.
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