The Impact of Loneliness on Parkinson’s Disease Risk

Loneliness can make many people feel desolate, but new research now suggests that loneliness can also increase the risk of Parkinson’s.

In the more than 490,000 people listed in the UK Biobank who were followed for up to 15 years, it appears that loneliness can increase the risk of Parkinson’s by 37%.

“The association between loneliness and incident Parkinson’s disease was not due to shared genetic, clinical or behavioral risk factors,” said researcher Angelina Sutin, professor in the department of behavioral sciences and social medicine at the Florida State University College of Medicine in Tallahassee (USA) .

While this study can’t prove that loneliness causes Parkinson’s disease, there does appear to be a link between the two, Sutin said.

Loneliness can increase the risk of Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative conditions

“We show that there is an association between loneliness and the development of Parkinson’s disease, not that loneliness causes Parkinson’s disease,” she emphasized.

Sutin said loneliness has been identified as a significant public health problem by the US Surgeon General, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and the World Health Organization, Medical Xpress notes.

“This study adds to the body of evidence for poor health outcomes associated with loneliness, particularly neurodegenerative diseases. Loneliness has been linked to Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. The present research indicates that loneliness is a risk factor for Parkinson’s disease as well,” she said.

What factors might be involved?

Several factors may be involved in why loneliness may increase the risk of Parkinson’s, Sutin suggested.

“We found that behavioral and clinical pathways account for a small part of the association. The association could also be caused by other behavioral and clinical factors that we did not consider. There could also be metabolic, inflammatory and neuro-endocrine pathways,” she added.

Loneliness appears to be associated with poorer overall brain health, perhaps through greater inflammation or other neurodegenerative processes, and is not necessarily specific to Parkinson’s disease, Sutin said.

“It’s possible that loneliness makes the brain more susceptible to neurodegeneration, which for some people could lead to Alzheimer’s disease and others to Parkinson’s disease,” she explained. Conversely, being socially connected may reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease. “We did not test this association in the current study, but yes, social connectedness is thought to be protective. More research needs to address this question,” Sutin said.

The report was published in JAMA Neurology.

What are the reasons why loneliness can increase the risk of Parkinson’s?

“We know that most people who feel lonely live alone, which is increasingly true of many older people,” said Dr. Alessandro Di Rocco, from Northwell Health (USA). He was not involved in the new study.

Living alone can lead to some unhealthy life choices, Di Rocco said. For example, many older people who live alone may not eat a healthy diet, but rather snack, fast food, or make other unhealthy choices. They may also be less physically active.

“Loneliness may not be good for the brain because of the lack of daily stimulation. You may have the TV on, you may have other sources of stimulation, but the level of brain engagement may be diminished,” he added.

What effects does loneliness have on the brain?

Loneliness can lead to a greater sense of stress or psychological discomfort that can lead to a brain that is more vulnerable, Di Rocco suggested.

“Loneliness may not cause Parkinson’s disease, but it does lead to it to some extent. The predisposition has to do with the fact that the brain may not be able to defend itself against whatever is going on biologically, which can lead to the development of Parkinson’s disease,” he said.

Di Rocco pointed out that physical activity keeps the brain healthy, and the same can be said for mental activity. “Physical activity helps delay the progression of the disease. We also know that mental engagement is beneficial in a very similar way and makes it less likely that a person will develop cognitive problems,” he said.

“For people who have cognitive problems, whether it’s related to Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s or other disorders, being intellectually engaged is probably the best medicine we have,” he concluded.

Parkinson’s disease could be found in mitochondria

Another recent study also found that Parkinson’s disease may be hiding in the mitochondria.

“For the first time, we can show that mitochondria, the producers of vital energy in brain cells, especially neurons, suffer damage, leading to disruption of mitochondrial DNA (LP1). This initiates and spreads the disease like wildfire through the brain,” says Professor Shohreh Issazadeh-Navikas, quoted by Eurek Alert.

“Our findings establish that the spread of damaged genetic material, mitochondrial DNA, causes symptoms reminiscent of Parkinson’s disease and its progression to dementia,” she added.

source: discover.ro

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2023-10-09 08:00:37
#Loneliness #increase #risk #Parkinsons