Introduction

A new study shows that loneliness is not only bad for men’s mental health, but also for their bones.

Study Findings

The researchers found that the negative impact of social isolation on bone health was documented in men, not women. The study was presented Sunday, June 18 at ENDO 2023, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society in Chicago, Illinois.

Concern Over Social Isolation

“Social isolation is a powerful form of psychosocial stress and is a growing public health concern, especially among older adults,” said study lead author Rebecca Mountain of the Maine Health Research Institute in Scarborough, Maine. The researchers were concerned about the growing epidemic of loneliness. Mountain pointed out that social isolation is associated with an increased risk of many diseases, including mental disorders, as well as higher rates of morbidity and mortality in general.

Impact on Bone Health

Mountain added: “Previous clinical studies have shown that psychosocial stressors and subsequent psychiatric disorders are major risk factors for osteoporosis and fractures that disproportionately affect older people. However, the impact of social isolation on older people has not been comprehensively investigated.” In the new study, the researchers subjected adult mice to either social isolation (one mouse per cage) or group housing (four mice per cage) for four weeks. They found that social isolation caused a significant deterioration in bone quality, including a decrease in bone mineral density, in male mice, but not in female mice.

Further Research Needed

“Overall, our data show that social isolation has a significant negative effect on bone in male mice, but may act through different mechanisms or time frames in female mice,” Mountain explains. Further research is needed to understand how these results translate in other contexts.

Conclusion

In addition to studying the effects of social isolation in human datasets, her research team will also explore the mechanisms of how social isolation contributes to bone loss in mouse models. Source: Medical Express