A German study has found out that social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic can lead to other health problems. To stop the spread of coronavirus, social distancing is important but social isolation may have the opposite effect on a human’s mind and body.
As per the study, socially isolated people especially the older ones are nearly 50% more liable to die from any other health problems besides COVID-19. Janine Gronewold, University Hospital in Essen in Germany and co-author of the European Journal of Neurology paper, said in a statement that having strong social relationships is of high importance for your heart’s health.
Social isolation may cause mental disorders including depression, and loneliness. Due to coronavirus, many families have stopped visiting old age homes because old age people are at high risk of catching COVID-19, researchers have concluded.
In a study of European Journal of Neurology, Gronewold and her colleagues recruited 4,316 adults of average age 59 and with no known history of heart disease and observed them for an average of 13 years. They found that 339 heart attacks or strokes and 530 deaths occurred among the study participants.
Lack of social integration also increased the future risk of heart attacks or strokes by 44%. The researchers observed that lack of social integration was based on marital status and living arrangements, contact with close friends and family and membership in political, religious, community, sports or professional organizations. Also, lack of financial support increased the risk of heart attack by 30%. Gronewold said that we don’t understand yet why socially isolated people have such poor health outcomes, but this is obviously a worrying finding, particularly during these times of prolonged social distancing.
