Prolonged loneliness and frequent divorces increase the rates of chronic inflammation in men

Men who have been alone for several years or who have experienced many divorces with partners show significantly higher levels of inflammatory markers in their blood, which indicates an increased chance of various diseases, according to a new Danish scientific study. The opposite does not seem to be the case, that is, for single women and those who have often been divorced in their relationships.

Systemic chronic inflammation is thought to play a key role in several diseases, especially as people get older, such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. and death.

The researchers, led by Rike Lund, a professor of social medicine at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Public Health and published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, analyzed data from 4,835 men (1,442 women) and up to 62 years (average age 54 years). About half had experienced a separation, divorce or death of a partner, while a similar percentage (54% of women and 49% of men) had lived alone for more than a year. Inflammation markers interleukin 6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured in blood samples from participants and their levels were related to their personal lives.

It was found that among men the highest rates of inflammation (increase of 17%) were those who had passed the most divorces, as well as those who had spent more than seven years alone (increase up to 12%). Men with higher levels of education and many years of loneliness had more chronic inflammation. No similar correlation was found in women.

“Small numbers of divorces or a few years of solitary living are not in themselves a risk of ill health, but the combination of many years of loneliness and multiple divorces, as our study shows, significantly affects both CRP and IL-6 levels.” “Although levels of inflammation are low, they are clinically significant and are likely to be a risk factor for increased mortality,” the researchers said. As they added, in our time “not insignificant numbers of people live with such chronic low-level inflammation. As the number of one-person households increases over the last 50-60 years in most high-income countries, this group of people who have been repeatedly divorced in relationships or living alone for various reasons is a high-risk group in terms of health. ».

Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news