Loneliness in Middle-Aged Men Could Result in Higher Cancer Risk by 10 Percent

A new study that the University of Eastern Finland researchers conducted has identified another health risk associated with loneliness.

A ConsumerAffairs report said several studies have looked at how loneliness can impact both the mental and physical health of an individual.

Based on the study findings, loneliness has been linked to increased cancer risk for middle-aged men. According to Siiri-Liisi Kraav, a researcher, it has been approximated based on studies conducted in recent years that loneliness could be as substantial a health risk as being overweight or smoking.

Their findings, the researcher added, support the notion that attention needs to be paid to this particular issue.

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(Photo: Hamed Mehrnik on Pixabay)
A study recently found that loneliness has been linked to increased cancer risk for middle-aged men.

Risks of Loneliness to One's Health

To understand further the health risks linked to loneliness, the study investigators evaluated findings from more than 2,750 men who were part of the research.

This research, Loneliness and social isolation increase cancer incidence in a cohort of Finnish middle-aged men. A longitudinal study, published in Psychiatry Research, began in the 1980s, and the research group has continuously followed up with men, including their long-term health results.

The researchers examined many different factors that can stimulate cancer risk, including quality of sleep, body mass index or BMI, and age.

According to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, BMI is a body fat measurement based on height and weight, applying to adults, both men, and women.

Among the study outcomes, the research team found that loneliness increased cancer risk by 10 percent. In their study, the study investigators said they learned that the marital status played a vital role "in these cancer cases."

Probability of Cancer Mortality

Based on the study findings, men who were either widowed, unmarried or divorced had the highest probability of cancer mortality than those other patients participating in this new research.

In addition, men who were uncoupled or unmarried at the time of diagnosis of their cancer could have poorer health outcomes compared to those who had a significant other or spouse.

Furthermore, members of the research team said they are hoping that more work is done to understand further how loneliness can weigh on the health and wellness of people.

Kraav explained, awareness of the health impacts of loneliness is continuously increasing. Therefore, it is essential to investigate, in more detail, the instruments and devices by which loneliness leads to adverse effects on health.

Such information, the researcher elaborated, would allow them to lessen better loneliness and the danger caused by it. It would also enable them to find the best ways to target preventive measures.

Study Finding

A similar report from Mail Online said that 25 percent of participants had developed cancer over the course of this research, with 11 percent of the Finnish men who were part of the study dying from the fatal condition.

Around the world, cancer is considered the second major cause of death. More so, loneliness, as earlier said, has been proposed as a risk factor for cancer mortality or death. Nonetheless, associations between cancer, social isolation, and loneliness are poorly understood.

In 2018, a related or similar major study proposed that social isolation can increase the odds of a stroke by 39 percent and premature mortality by half.

Essentially, loneliness may raise the risk of heart attack by over 40 percent, a study showed. Relatively, the evaluation was based on around 480,000 Britons' health records, making it the largest research of its kind.

Participants of the study who already had the cardiovascular disease were more likely to die if isolated, suggesting the essentiality of friends and family in helping recovery.

A related report is shown on NPT Reports' YouTube video below:

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