The feeling of loneliness might act as a risk factor for heart valve pathologies. This conclusion was reached by experts from China and the Netherlands, who published the results of their study in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA).
The research incorporated data from more than 460,000 participants enrolled in the UK Biobank project. Key health parameters for these subjects were monitored over an average period of approximately 14 years.
The study also tracked instances of degenerative heart valve diseases, disorders where impaired narrowing or incomplete closing of the valves leads to disruptions in normal blood flow.
The analysis demonstrated that individuals reporting significant feelings of loneliness faced a 19% heightened risk for these types of ailments. Specifically, the likelihood of developing aortic valve stenosis increased by 21%, and mitral valve incompetence rose by 23%.
The aortic valve is responsible for governing the flow of blood between the left ventricle and the aorta. The mitral valve functions to ensure unidirectional blood movement, thereby preventing regurgitation.
Crucially, it was the personal, subjective experience of loneliness that proved significant, rather than the objective metrics of social contact frequency or overall social activity.
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