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Loneliness and vascular biomarkers: the Dublin Healthy Ageing Study
C O'Luanaigh1, H O'Connell, A V Chin
1Mercer's Institute for Research in Ageing, St. James's Hospital, Dublin 8, Ireland. drconor22@yahoo.co.uk
Background:
Loneliness has been associated with poor physical health and a link has been suggested between the presence of loneliness, cardiovascular health and inflammatory markers.
Objective:
To investigate the association between vascular disease biomarkers and loneliness in a community-dwelling non-demented elderly population.
Design:
cross-sectional community based assessment.
Participants:
466 subjects with mean age 75.45 (SD, 6.06) years. 208 (44.6%) were male.
Results:
Higher levels of HbA1c, but not other vascular biomarkers were independently associated with being lonely.
Conclusion:
Loneliness was associated with raised levels of HbA1c in a community dwelling elderly population. The mechanism for this association has yet to be elucidated but may reflect an abnormal stress response in people who are lonely.
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