May 24, 2002 Lonely people have a greater risk of heart disease,
possibly due to differences in how their cardiovascular system
reacts in times of stress rather than because of unhealthy
behaviors, according to a new study published in the May/June
issue of Psychosomatic Medicine. The study shows that when
performing mentally and emotionally stressful tasks, lonely
college students had increased blood pressure due to increased
resistance to blood flow that may be harmful in the long run. In
contrast, non-lonely students had increased blood pressure from
increased cardiac output, a more normal response to stress. The
lonely students had resistance to blood flow before the
stressors too, suggesting that these cardiovascular differences
were pervasive. In a parallel study of older subjects, systolic
blood pressure rose with age in lonely men and women while it
remained more stable in men and women who were not lonely.
“Differences in the [mechanisms of blood flow] observed
throughout the session in younger adult