New research claims that loneliness can leave people vulnerable to Parkinson’s disease. 490,000 people listed in the UK Biobank were followed for 15 years, and loneliness increased the diagnosis of Parkinson’s by 37%.
Senior researcher Angelina Sutin said,
The association between loneliness and incident Parkinson’s disease was not due to shared genetic, clinical or behavioral risk factors,
Moreover, although the study does not prove that loneliness causes Parkinson’s, a connection appears.
She emphasized,
We show that there is an association between loneliness and the development of Parkinson’s disease, not that loneliness causes Parkinson’s disease,
It is also a significant public health concern for the WHO, Engineering and Medicine, U.S. Surgeon General, and the National Academies of Sciences.
She said,
This study adds to the body of evidence for the poor outcomes associated with loneliness, particularly neurodegenerative diseases,
Loneliness has been associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. The present research indicates that it is a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease as well.
There are multiple factors that contribute to loneliness and increase the risk of Parkinson’s.
We found that behavioural and clinical pathways account for a small part of the association. The association could be due to other behavioural and clinical factors that we did not consider,
There could also be metabolic, inflammatory and neuro and endocrine pathways.
Sutin said that loneliness has an association with the overall worsening of brain health. However, it could be through greater inflammation or neurodegenerative processes, not specific to Parkinson’s disease.
She further explained,
It may be that loneliness makes the brain more susceptible to neurodegeneration, which for some people could lead to Alzheimer’s disease and others to Parkinson’s disease,
Subsequently, a social connection can reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Sutin added,
We did not test this association in the current study, but yes, it is thought that social connection is protective. More research needs to address this question,
The report was published online in JAMA Neurology.
System director of neurology, Parkinson’s and movement disorders at Northwell Health, Dr. Alessandro Di Rocco said,
We know most of the people who feel lonely also live alone, which is increasingly the condition of a lot of older people,
Dr Rocco added that living alone may also come with other unhealthy lifestyle choices, for example, not eating a healthy diet or, rather, eating fast food and unhealthy snacks. Moreover, they may also be less active physically.
He added,
Loneliness may not be good for the brain due to a lack of daily brain stimulation,
You may have the television on, you may have other sources [of stimulation], but the level of brain engagement may be diminished.
In addition, loneliness can also lead to higher stress and psychological discomfort.
He said,
Loneliness may not cause Parkinson’s, but to some degree predisposes it. Predisposition has to do with the fact that the brain may not be able to defend itself to whatever biological happens, which may lead to the development of Parkinson’s,
Di Rocco also noted that physical activity keeps the brain healthy. Moreover, the same can also be said for mental activity.
Physical activity helps delay the disease progression. We also know that mental engagement is beneficial in a very similar way and diminishes the likelihood a person develops cognitive problems,
For people who have cognitive problems, whether it is related to Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s or other disorders, being engaged intellectually is probably the best medication we have.