08:27 Monday 31st November 2015
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire
DOTTY MCLEOD: We mentioned earlier on the issue of loneliness, and a new study has found that being alone is just the tip of the iceberg for some older people. This is a report from academics at Anglia Ruskin University. It found that many older people who are suffering from loneliness are more likely to suffer also from a long term illness or disability and have an overall low enjoyment of life. Dr Claire Preston is a Research Fellow at Anglia Ruskin University and is based in Cambridge. Morning Claire.
CLAIRE PRESTON: Good morning.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Do you know which causes which here? Is it more likely that being lonely makes you ill, or does an illness make you more likely to be lonely?
CLAIRE PRESTON: It’s actually both, and it works at its worst in a vicious circle, where the two things feed into each other. There are particular aspects of health where there’s a weight of evidence persuading that actually loneliness causes that health condition.
DOTTY MCLEOD: So what kind of things?
CLAIRE PRESTON: That’s actually cardiac problems.
DOTTY MCLEOD: Seriously?
CLAIRE PRESTON: Yes. And I think the mechanism is to do with stress. So cardiac and vascular problems, there is evidence out there. A researcher in America called Cacioppo , and you might have heard earlier this year there was a lot of research about obesity, and he was saying it’s worse than obesity. Loneliness is worse for your health than obesity. And because of that work there’s now a recognition that it is a public health issue.
DOTTY MCLEOD: And this study that you’ve carried out, it was looking at a phone line, wasn’t it? This is quite an interesting way of going about it.
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