Coronary Artery Disease and Loneliness: A Cross-Sectional Analysis using the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale

Loneliness has been identified as an important psychosocial factor associated with cardiovascular disease, but the relationship has been underexplored using validated measures.

This cross-sectional study analyzed 92 patients from 2018 to 2019 using the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale to evaluate associations between loneliness and coronary artery disease (CAD). Statistical analysis was performed using R v4.4.0. A multivariate logistic regression model assessed the relationship between loneliness scores and CAD, adjusting for age and race/ethnicity. A one-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test compared loneliness scores between CAD and non-CAD patients.

Age was significantly associated with CAD (odds ratio [OR]: 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.08, p  = 0.0084), whereas loneliness score showed a trend toward significance (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.99-1.07, p  = 0.140). No significant associations were found between race/ethnicity or sex and loneliness. In a subgroup analysis of patients ≥ 55 years, loneliness was significantly associated with CAD (OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.00-1.12, p  = 0.04), whereas age was not ( p  = 0.378). Patients aged ≥ 55 years with CAD had significantly higher loneliness scores than those without CAD ( p  = 0.044), whereas no significant difference was observed in patients < 55 years ( p  = 0.87).

While loneliness was not independently associated with CAD in the overall cohort, it was significantly associated with CAD in patients aged ≥ 55 years. This suggests that loneliness may be a relevant factor in cardiovascular health among older adults. This emphasizes the need for health care providers to consider loneliness as a potential risk factor for CAD, alongside traditional risk factors.