Scientist find genetic causes of Loneliness

A geneticist by the name of John Perry from the University of Cambridge has been researching genetic roots to loneliness, The research studied genetic variations in 487,000 participants in the UK. Participants were asked about their perception of loneliness, how frequent their social activities are, and the quality of their interactions with others. This long-term studied identified 15 genetic variations linked to some parts in the brain region where emotion is controlled and metabolism. It is believed that individuals with a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) are more susceptible to loneliness and depression. Perry supported this claim by saying that it's either because, they are self-conscious about their weight or that being lonely/depressed could change the way they ate or exercised. He also states if we would be able to pinpoint these pathways then maybe we could improve these individuals cardio-metabolic health.

I found this article interesting to read and I like the fact that at the end of the article John Perry does mention that just because, we might be able to identify these specific traits in individuals does not mean that people with these traits will have a higher likelihood of developing loneliness/depression. There are so many factors, genetically and non-genetically that can contribute to how someone is socially and mentally. I just personally think that this would be hard to study considering those factors.

Study Shows Lonely People More Susceptible to Illness

This article from an Indian news source discusses a recent study that links a less effective immune system to loneliness.  According to the research lonely people are more likely to get heart disease, certain types of cancer, infections, and dementia.  The leader of this study, Steve Cole who is a molecular biologist from UCLA tested 153 volunteers by asking them a series of questions that could rate their loneliness on a scale.  He then studied the white blood cell count of the top and bottom 15 percent of scorers and found that lonely people had a significantly lower level of white blood cells.  He then compared 22,000 human genes and found that 209 genes were constantly expressed in the group of lonely people.  Mr. Cole said that this study shows that social isolation really can affect the inner workings of our mind and body and create a lot of detrimental problems.  There is hope for the future that in time we'll be able to treat the more severe problems that loneliness causes with drugs or therapy.