Social isolation could negatively influence bone well being, suggests a research carried out in mice being offered Sunday at ENDO 2023, the Endocrine Society’s annual assembly in Chicago, Ill.

Social isolation is a potent type of psychosocial stress and is a rising public well being concern, significantly amongst older adults. Even previous to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has considerably elevated the prevalence of isolation and loneliness, researchers have been involved a few rising ‘epidemic of loneliness.'”

Rebecca Mountain, Ph.D., Lead Researcher, MaineWell being Institute for Research in Scarborough, Maine

Mountain famous that social isolation is related to elevated danger for a lot of well being situations in folks, together with psychological well being problems, in addition to increased total charges of sickness and dying.

“Previous clinical research has demonstrated that psychosocial stressors, and subsequent mental health disorders, are major risk factors for osteoporosis and fracture, which disproportionally affect older adults,” Mountain mentioned. “The effects of social isolation on bone, however, have not been thoroughly investigated.”

In the brand new research, researchers uncovered grownup mice to both social isolation (one mouse per cage) or grouped housing (4 mice per cage) for 4 weeks. They discovered that social isolation brought on vital reductions in bone high quality, together with decreased bone mineral density, in male, however not feminine mice.

“Overall, our data suggest that social isolation has a dramatic negative effect on bone in male mice, but it may operate through different mechanisms or in a different time frame in female mice,” Mountain mentioned. “Future research is needed to understand how these findings translate to human populations.”

In addition to exploring the results of social isolation in human datasets, her analysis staff may even examine the mechanisms of how social isolation contributes to bone loss utilizing mouse fashions.

“Our work provides critical insight into the effects of isolation on bone and has key clinical implications as we grapple with the long-term health impacts of the rise in social isolation related to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Mountain mentioned.