Loneliness Increases Cancer Risk in Middle-Aged Men

A 20-year study in Finland found that loneliness increased cancer risk in middle-aged men and that being single at diagnosis led to poorer outcomes and prognosis (disease course).

It also found that although loneliness was associated with increased cancer risk, social isolation was not.

Siiri-Liisi Kraav, a doctoral student at the University of Eastern Finland involved in the research, said it was unclear why loneliness had a stronger association with cancer than social isolation, but that loneliness as a long-lasting process might be linked to cancer. “For many people, their level of social relationships (social isolation) is satisfactory and does not necessarily cause distress. Loneliness, however, is defined by dissatisfaction with the situation.”

Krav said it was unclear why loneliness might lead to greater cancer risk, but one possibility could be inflammation.

Kraav said, “Loneliness has many negative effects on health, and an increased cancer rate is only one. It may therefore be important to prevent these negative effects by developing effective interventions for loneliness and routinely screening for it.”.

Published in May 2021 in Psychiatry Research, the study involved 2570 men aged 42-61. After a mean follow-up of 20.4 years, 649 men (25.3%) had reportedly developed cancer and 283 had died from it. The average age at diagnosis was 70, and the most common cancers were prostate (9.2%), lung (3.4%) and colorectal (3.1%). The study also reported that, compared with other healthy people, those developing cancer were older and consumed more alcohol and tobacco.

Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstand of Brigham Young University in Utah, who was involved in the research, also said: “There are many studies linking both social isolation and loneliness to all-cause mortality and cardiovascular outcomes, but fewer are specific to cancer.” Holt-Lunstand said the Covid-19 disease caused by the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) caused a pandemic that triggered loneliness and social isolation, whose health impact would not be fully understood “for many years to come”.

While we hope that the vast majority of people will develop immunity to coronavirus or recover, we are concerned that at least a subset of the population will experience the chronic biopsychosocial effects of the pandemic. We should therefore continue researching this issue and prioritize addressing public health.

In conclusion, we can see that lifestyles changing recently, partly because of the Covid-19 pandemic, have brought psychological distress. This study, begun 20 years ago, may help predict the long-term problems arising when people living alone remain without communication, particularly at such times. We should not overlook how this study has shed light on many issues and raised awareness at this particular time. Much larger prospective studies should also be conducted in light of it.