'Loneliness can be a killer': Why lonely people are at risk of serious health conditions

A new study links proteins found in the blood of people experiencing loneliness to serious health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and stroke, writes Helen O’Callaghan

Prof Rose Anne Kenny: ‘Loneliness can be a killer’. Picture: Julien Behal Photography

Loneliness, despite being emotional, may have physical consequences — it could be a factor in your high cholesterol, the furring of your arteries, or the development of type-2 diabetes.

Specific proteins found abundantly in people who are lonely provide a clue to the biological mechanisms for why social isolation is linked to poorer health and an early death.