New York; Experts say that feelings of loneliness can increase the risk of stroke in people.
Being alone means not having people around, whereas loneliness is a feeling that can make you feel alone even among people, and this feeling can increase the risk of stroke, according to experts.
Older adults who reported being chronically lonely had a 56 percent higher risk of stroke than those who rated consistently low on the loneliness scale.
Lead study author Dr. Yeni Soh said routine screening for loneliness is important because it can have worse outcomes if it goes unrecognized or ignored.
The study, published in the journal eClinical Medicine, covers data collected between 2006 and 2018 as part of the Health and Retirement Study.
More than 12,000 participants age 50 and older were initially surveyed between 2006 and 2008, according to the study.
