Loneliness and Cardiovascular Risk: Sociodemographic Moderators

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the United States. A potential risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, loneliness is defined as a perceived discrepancy between one’s desired and actual levels of social connectedness. It is a subjective appraisal rather than objective measures of social contacts. Loneliness has been found to be associated with morbidity and mortality risk. In this study, the relation of loneliness to six commonly screened cardiovascular risk factors (systolic and diastolic blood pressure, glycated hemoglobin, BMI, waist circumference and total cholesterol) was examined. Sex, race, and socioeconomic status (SES) were explored as potential moderators using a model construction approach. Data from the Healthy Aging in the Neighborhoods of Diversity across the Life Span (HANDLS) Study—a Baltimore-based epidemiological study—were used in the current study. No main effects of loneliness were identified with regard to any of the cardiovascular risk factors. One interactive relation of loneliness * sex * SES emerged in the total cholesterol model, such that loneliness was associated with lower cholesterol level for men of lower SES background, but not for men of higher SES background or women. No other interactive relations were identified. The statistically significant interaction withstood further adjustment of behavioral and affective factors in sensitivity analyses. While the results from the current study did not add substantial support to the role of loneliness in cardiovascular risk, it is argued that future research is needed to better understand the nuanced relation of loneliness and health.