Loneliness, social isolation increases risk of high blood pressure, hypertension in women

Loneliness and social isolation may increase the risk of high blood pressure and hypertension in women, suggested a study. The research was undertaken by the researchers at the University of British Columbia and was recently published in the Journal of Hypertension. The study has found that social isolation affects the health of men and women in different ways-including placing women at higher risk of high blood pressure.

It further discovered that middle-aged and older women who lacked social ties were much more likely than men to suffer from hypertension - a known risk factor for heart disease, which is the leading cause of death among women-and stroke. "Among older adults, social isolation is the largest known risk factor for mortality, equal only to smoking," said principal investigator Annalijn Conklin, assistant professor in the faculty of pharmaceutical sciences at UBC and researcher with the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences. "Less well known is how social isolation affects men and women differently, or how it affects biomarkers of longevity. Our research indicates that women, in particular, are more likely to be hypertensive when they experience isolation in middle and older age."

Using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, these researchers analyzed the social ties of 28,238 adults aged 45 to 85, and found that women who were non-partnered, engaged in fewer than three social activities a month, or had a small social network (fewer than 85 contacts) had higher odds of hypertension. Average systolic blood pressure was highest among widowed, lone-living and socially inactive women, and the largest difference in blood pressure was between widowed and married women. Widowed women were found to have the strongest likelihood of hypertension across all categories.