According to a new study, loneliness may also be harmful to men’s bones in addition to their mental health.
Also, the researchers discovered that while social isolation may be harmful to men’s bone health, it is not harmful to women’s bone health.
Loneliness Takes a Toll, Says New Study
The study’s principal investigator was Dr. Rebecca Mountain of the Maine Health Institute for Research in Scarborough, Maine, according to numerous media sources.
ENDO 2023, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, was held in Chicago, Illinois, and the work was presented there on Sunday.
According to Dr. Mountain in a statement, “social isolation is a powerful form of psychosocial stress and is a developing public health concern, particularly among older persons.”
She went on to say that researchers had been worried about a growing epidemic of loneliness long before the COVID-19 pandemic dramatically raised awareness of the problem of social isolation and loneliness.
She continued by stating that social isolation increases mortality and the development of many diseases, including mental problems.
Prior clinical studies, according to the speaker, had demonstrated that psychosocial stressors and the resulting mental health disorders were important risk factors for osteoporosis and fracture, which disproportionately affected older people.
In contrast to female mice, male mice who were socially isolated had significantly lower bone quality, including lower bone mineral density.
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The Hidden Impact of Social Isolation on Bone Health
The abstract of the study states that isolated male mice had decreased bone remodeling signs as shown by decreased osteoblast numbers, osteoblast-related gene expression, and osteoclast-related gene expression, in contrast, solitary female mice displayed increased bone resorption-related gene expression but no change in bone mass.
The Endocrine Society is a global organization of medical experts and researchers “dedicated to pushing scientific discoveries and supporting patient health and well-being,” according to the organization’s website.
On the other side, the Maine Health Institute for Research supports and encourages a wide spectrum of research, from fundamental laboratory-based research to translational research, which aims to adapt cutting-edge findings to medical issues, to clinical research, according to the organization’s website.
Health services research, which aims to employ research techniques to help improve and advance healthcare, ranges from the study of the direct application of novel medications, technologies, and treatment procedures to patients.
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