Loneliness increases the risk of diabetes
A study conducted in Norway revealed that feeling lonely increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Within the framework of the study, which was reported in the scientific journal Diabetology, which specializes in diabetes, the research team from the University of Applied Sciences in Western Norway monitored increasing evidence linking psychological stress and loneliness with type 2 diabetes.
The researchers participating in the study say that loneliness provokes a temporary resistance within the body to insulin, which is responsible for processing blood sugar, and the reason for this is due to the increase in the hormone cortisol, which is secreted by the body in a state of stress.
The researchers say that loneliness also affects the way the brain controls eating habits, as the desire to eat carbohydrates increases, which increases blood sugar.
Previous studies have linked loneliness to unhealthy eating habits, such as excessive consumption of drinks with high concentrations of sugar and foods with high levels of fat.
The researchers relied on data from the Hunt Research Center of the College of Medicine and Health Sciences in Norway, the Regional Center for Health in Central Norway and the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, and the study included more than 230,000 people over the course of four statistical studies conducted during the period from 1984 to 2019.
The research team indicated in statements to the website "Scitech Daily" that specializes in scientific research that "the lack of social relationships and the absence of positive social influences may make lonely people more susceptible to behaviors that increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes."
The research team recommended increasing research to find the mechanisms that control the relationship between loneliness and diabetes, and concluded that “the question that must be answered is whether feeling lonely provokes stressful reactions within the body and pushes to adopt negative health behaviors, and the extent of the impact of this trend on risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
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