Risk of stroke increases in older people who are lonely, study finds

BOSTON -- Loneliness is a major public health issue and recent studies have shown the devastating effects on one's health and well-being, including putting older adults at higher risk of stroke.

According to a recent poll by the American Psychiatric Association, one in three American adults reports feeling lonely every week, with 10% of that group saying they feel it every day. Previous studies have linked loneliness with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, but research out of Harvard focused specifically on stroke risk.

Researchers looked at data on more than 12,000 adults who were 50 years and older, and found a 56% greater risk of stroke for people who experienced chronic loneliness compared to those who said they weren't lonely. 

Now, researchers are looking more closely at why chronic loneliness raises stroke risk. 

In:
• Health
• Heart Attack
• Stroke
• Harvard News
• Health Care
• Harvard

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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