Loneliness May Affect Genes

(WebMD)  Scientists say they've found a genetic "fingerprint" of loneliness that may partly explain why persistent loneliness is unhealthy.

Don't take the findings the wrong way. The researchers aren't saying that genes doom some people to loneliness and destine others for rich relationships.

Rather, the new loneliness gene research shows that certain genes may be more or less active in lonely people - and that may dim the health of the lonely.

Don't have oodles of people in your buddy list? Don't worry. It's the
quality, not the quantity, of relationships that matters, according to the
researchers.

They included Steve Cole, Ph.D., of the University of California at Los
Angeles (UCLA) David Geffen School of Medicine.

Lonely or Not?

Cole and colleagues studied DNA from 14 people aged 50-67 for five
years.

Participants got yearly checkups and periodically completed surveys in which
they rated their social isolation.

The group included six people who consistently ranked at the top of the loneliness scale and eight people who consistently ranked high for having plenty of rewarding relationships.

Lonely or not, participants shared similar backgrounds. Cole's team also considered their health history and other factors.

Compared with their socially connected peers, the lonely had overactive genes that promote inflammation and cell growth. Lonely people also had underactive genes that control inflammation and cells' life cycle.
Those genetic patterns may show why chronic loneliness has long been linked to poorer health and accelerated aging.

It might be possible to develop treatments to counteract those genetic risks in lonely people, but larger studies are needed to confirm which comes first loneliness or shifts in gene activity - and to study people who aren't at the extremes of loneliness or social connection, Cole's team notes.

Their study appears in the online journal Genome Biology.
By Miranda Hitti
Reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D.
© 2007 WebMD, Inc. All rights reserved

[rushman71]

FeelFree1: I''m sure that you won''t be so lonely keeping Chavez company. Please by all means, move down there so that we could "feelfree" of your presense!!!

[rushman71]

"Only the Lonely, dom dom dom domba duwaaaa"

[feelfree1]

Re: "Certain Genes May Be More Or Less Active In Lonely People, Increasing Health Risks"

Tough luck speakingup, stinkingprick, arse008, One_Dumb_Lonely_American, etc., etc....