A Good Many of Us Will Be Dying Sooner Than Everyone Else

And not because GFF is disproportionally obese.

Sick? Lonely? Genes tell the tale - Yahoo! News

Quote:

Sick? Lonely? Genes tell the tale

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lonely people are more likely to get sick and die young, and researchers said on Thursday they may have found out why -- their immune systems are haywire.

They used a "gene chip" to look at the DNA of isolated people and found that people who described themselves as chronically lonely have distinct patterns of genetic activity, almost all of it involving the immune system.

The study does not show which came first -- the loneliness or the physical traits. But it does suggest there may be a way to help prevent the deadly effects of loneliness, said Steve Cole, a molecular biologist at the University of California Los Angeles who worked on the study.

"What this study shows is that the biological impact of social isolation reaches down into some of our most basic internal processes -- the activity of our genes," Cole said.

"We have known for years that there is this epidemiological relationship between social support -- how many friends and family members you have around you -- and a whole bunch of physical outcomes," he said in a telephone interview.

Many studies of large populations have shown that people who describe themselves as lonely or as having little social support are more likely to die prematurely and to have infections, high blood pressure, insomnia and cancer.

"There are two theories -- the social provision theory, which basically is about what other people do for you in a tangible, material sense. Like, if I am sick and I have got people around me, they will take me to the doctors, they will see I take my pills," Cole said.

"The other is that there is something about being isolated and lonely that changes your body."

His team set out to investigate the second theory.

ALL THE LONELY PEOPLE

John Cacioppo, a psychology professor at the University of Chicago, has been studying the health effects of loneliness for years in a group of people who have allowed him to delve in-depth into their social lives and health.

Cole and Cacioppo's team studied 14 of these volunteers -- six who scored in the top 15 percent of an accepted scale of loneliness.

"These are people who said for four years straight 'there's really nobody that I feel that close to'," Cole said.

The other eight were the least lonely of the group.

Cole's team took blood and studied the gene activity of their immune system cells -- the white blood cells that protect from invaders such as viruses and bacteria.

All 22,000 human genes were studied and compared, and 209 stood out in the loneliest people.

"These 200 genes weren't sort of a random mishmash of genes. They were part of a highly suspicious conspiracy of genes. A big fraction of them seemed to be involved in the basic immune response to tissue damage," Cole said.

Others were involved in the production of antibodies -- the tag the body uses to mark microbes or damaged cells for removal, Cole said.

The findings suggest that the loneliest people had unhealthy levels of chronic inflammation, which has been associated with heart and artery disease, arthritis, Alzheimer's and other ills.

The next step is to see if this might be treated, Cole said. "This is a biological target for intervention," he said. "Maybe we can give these people aspirin." Aspirin, an anti-inflammatory drug, is also a blood thinner taken regularly by many people to prevent heart attacks and stroke.

The report is available freely online in the journal Genome Biology at Genome Biology | homepage

I mean...uh oh.

I'd be interested to know if us lonely people have fucked up immune systems because we're lonely, or if it's just another typical trait of the introvert.

I also guess anyone who is lonely and a hypochondriac will be sick tomorrow.

Most amazing jew boots

There's lonely as in, "I'm fat and depressed and no one will hang out with me", and there's lonely as in, "I enjoy being alone and don't feel the need for a whole bunch of human interaction." Does it matter which of these categories you fall into?

There's nowhere I can't reach.

That coincides with something else I read awhile back about the effects of being in a relationship (especially a strong one). According to the article, married couples live longer and are more successful because of their companionship. The shared struggle of life brings to life a stronger resolve to succeed and be healthy, both consciously and unconsciously.

After I read that article last year I started to feel lonely and that I was going to die sooner than my married friends. It's been a total suckfest since, and I've desperately been trying to find a great girl that I can stay with so I can feel better and stuff.
I bet I'd get better grades in school too.

How ya doing, buddy?

They say that about dogs too. I mean, not the marrying them part.

Originally Posted by nutty

There's lonely as in, "I'm fat and depressed and no one will hang out with me", and there's lonely as in, "I enjoy being alone and don't feel the need for a whole bunch of human interaction." Does it matter which of these categories you fall into?

I don't know if they know, but glancing at the study, it doesn't look like the why matters. The test was if the people described themselves as extremely lonely, so the latter group might not have even been studied anyway.

In the study, there's a table that describes the two groups, and the lonely group were not only higher on the loneliness scale, but also on the depression scale.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

I don't see why this is either surprising or a "new" study. Wasn't there a less-than-surprising medical annoucement two years ago that you *could* die from a broken heart? How is this really any different?

I was speaking idiomatically.

What if you'd typically be considered a "lonely" person, but you're not "lonely" at all.

I mean, that's really not my case, but I know people like this. They're perfectly happy, despite being alone or without a partner.

I've been in that position too in the past. Despite not having a partner, I am completely happy living without one - not lonely at all. In fact, I often enjoy my solitude.

So what I am curious about, in the end, is whether or not a person can be classified as "lonely" when they are, in fact, not at all lonely.

It's funny. I would never consider myself lonely with a family around me. Fuck having a partner - a nice to have, but not a requirement. Family? I'd be VERY lonely without. I don't think I've ever been lonely.

I guess it's a matter of perspective.

I can't fathom being considered lonely, though. Maybe my perspective is skewed.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I think that perception DOES matter. Or in other ways, I doubt that it's the physical aspect of being alone that fucks you up, but the internal feeling that you are alone that matters.

I was thinking, because lately I've been feeling REALLY lonely - I don't have anyone out here - but I remember a time when I, literally, had one friend for two years but I was really happy because I had a ton of internet friends.

So, arguably, Gamingforce might save you yet.

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

It's funny. I would never consider myself lonely with a family around me. Fuck having a partner - a nice to have, but not a requirement. Family? I'd be VERY lonely without. I don't think I've ever been lonely.

I imagine family can fall under "somebody that I can feel close to."

We had better hope Skills gets along with his parents.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Why do you say I'm lonely. I'm not lonely.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

Originally Posted by LeHah

I don't see why this is either surprising or a "new" study. Wasn't there a less-than-surprising medical annoucement two years ago that you *could* die from a broken heart? How is this really any different?

There is a difference between your brain shutting down out of depression and despair and the actual chemical makeup of your body changing because you're lonely. And we're not just talking about different seratonin levels or increased liver function or whatever, entire bodily systems are drastically altered.

Originally Posted by Sassafrass

What if you'd typically be considered a "lonely" person, but you're not "lonely" at all.

I mean, that's really not my case, but I know people like this. They're perfectly happy, despite being alone or without a partner.

You're getting caught up in the language. "Loneliness" is not the same as "being alone".

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by BlueMikey

There is a difference between your brain shutting down out of depression and despair and the actual chemical makeup of your body changing because you're lonely. And we're not just talking about different seratonin levels or increased liver function or whatever, entire bodily systems are drastically altered.

What regulates the chemical make-up and body functions, Mikey? The brain!

The only difference here is the amount of time either example takes. Its the same idea, only with different words used.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by BlueMikey

You're getting caught up in the language. "Loneliness" is not the same as "being alone".

That's what I am saying.

Being alone is not the same as being lonely. But since we're on the same page, there...

...why does this come as a shock? If a lonely person wants to be not so lonely, that person is naturally prone to a little depression, don'tcha think? They seem to go hand-in-hand.

"I am lonely. This makes me sad."

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

It's a shock because their body chemistry changes. It's not just depression, it's not just unregulated chemical levels. Their genes are changing.

Originally Posted by LeHah

The only difference here is the amount of time either example takes. Its the same idea, only with different words used.

Uh, not really.

In broken heart and other similar traumatic disorders, the brain starts over-regulating the body. The function is a lot like a panic attack and, afterwards, there are no lasting defects, the brain can go back to normal function (in the instances where the person doesn't die, of course).

This study shows feelings can create permanent changes that are usually reserved for environmental and hereditary factors. The brain doesn't just stop functioning as it should; it changes the rules, essentially.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Instead of saying their genes are changing, wouldn't it make more sense that somehow the genes which impact the immune system also create a tendency toward social isolation? Cause and effect and all that.

All the study said was that people who describe themselves as lonely share this trait.

The connection is interesting though.

I also find it hilarious that "loneliness" can become a risk factor now. Specifically, a doctor saying "Are you lonely? Here, have some aspirin."

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

True, Dev.

It's kinda obvious. I've always believe that your mental health can and will reflect on and alter the development of your physical health.

FELIPE NO

Well it's kind of like that Dev. But also I think that loneliness destroys your will to fight off sickness.
So instead of laying there going "I must get up and get well" you're just like "cough cough, no one's here to help me I might as well die" and you practically will yourself into worse shape.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I figured it didn't tie in to "loneliness". Figured your immune system wasn't used to the normal perils of being out and about. Chances are that if you're lonely, then you are cut off from the outside world. Normal bacteria and germs that average Joes are rittled with day-to-day are no trouble for him to fight off. But Steve who has a job as an webpage designer and never leaves his home will get reamed by the bacteria simply because he isn't used to it.

But yeah there's also the whole "will to live -- fading" sorta thing. My grandmother (father's side) passed away, and following that, my grandpa lost all will to live and promptly passed on just under six months later. Combination of losing his wife he loved so much (broken heart) in addition to not having any friends still alive.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I don't know why, but this makes me think that "inactive bachelors are more likely to die sooner." Perhaps the loneliness relates to depression moreso. I can't quite picture a direct, clear-cut, scientific reasoning behind loners being more prone to early death. Methinks there's a hidden variable or more in this study.

There's nowhere I can't reach.