Loneliness may not only affect your mental health, but may also affect your physical health. It might not just hurt your feelings, but may harm your health, and even lead to diabetes. Yes, that’s right. A recent study has found that socially isolated individuals have an increased risk of developing certain diseases. A recent study presented at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, California, found that people who are isolated have an increased risk of developing diabetes and high blood sugar.Isolation and diseases
The researchers looked at how social isolation is a growing concern since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it is emerging as a major health risk, especially for older adults. They found that isolation could even be linked to diabetes and high blood sugar in older adults. Diabetes is a chronic condition that occurs when the body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or can’t effectively use the insulin it does produce. This could lead to high blood sugar levels, which can cause serious health complications if not managed properly, including heart disease, kidney damage, and vision problems.
High blood pressure, on the other hand, is a ‘silent killer’, and goes undetected for years. Hypertension is one of the leading causes of chronic illnesses, including heart disease, stroke, and kidney failure, worldwide.“Social isolation and loneliness have been increasingly recognized as important health risk factors after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings underscore the importance for clinicians to recognize social isolation as a critical social determinant of health when caring for older patients,” lead researcher Samiya Khan, M.D., of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, said. “These findings are especially relevant given the rapidly growing aging population in the United States and globally, alongside the widespread prevalence of social isolation and loneliness among older adults,” Khan added.
The researchers also added that though previous studies have looked at the connection between social isolation and diabetes, this recent study is among the first to examine its link to poor glycemic control using a nationally representative sample of data that reflects the broader US population. The study
The researchers analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003-2008. NHANES is a survey program to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the US. Analysing that, the researchers looked at the data of 3,833 adults aged 60 to 84. This represents about 38 million older people in the US. They found that socially isolated older adults were 34% more likely to have diabetes and 75% more likely to have poor blood sugar control than those who were not isolated. This study has pointed out that isolation could be a vital factor, which is often overlooked when it comes to diabetes and poor blood sugar management in older adults.“These findings underscore the importance of social connections for the well-being of older adults. Physicians should recognize social isolation as a potential risk factor among elderly patients for both diabetes and high blood sugar,” Khan added.
