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Vienna (pte017/02.05.2005/10:35) - Two new studies done at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, US, reveal that social isolation can lead to a lowered immune system and affect the heart and general health. The first study shows that first-year college students who had fewer friends and mixed with less people had a lower immune response to influenza vaccination than their classmates who were more outgoing and socially mobile. The second study found that socially isolated men were likely to be more susceptible to atherosclerosis due to the presence of a blood marker for inflammation, interleukin-6.
Sarah Pressman, a health psychologist a Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, US comments that it has always been known that social isolation can lead to increased heart problems but this study shows how this is mediated.
Eighty-three university students participated in the study for which they recorded how many people they talked to over a two-week period and recorded their feelings of loneliness. Pressman found that students with the smallest network of friends (contact with between four to 12 people over a fortnight) had an 11% poorer response to the flu vaccination than those who mixed with more than 20 people in the same period.
Pressman concluded that although there is no obvious way to monitor loneliness, regular contact with family and friends could have a general protective affect on the immune system.
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