Social isolation and loneliness can lead to other health issues, research shows
By Justin Sibbet - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on July 12, 2024.
Herald photo by Justin Sibbet
Gerlinde Metz is one of three professors in Alberta conducting research into maternal isolation and how it affects the health of mothers and their children, as well as elderly people in the long run.LETHBRIDGE HERALDjsibbet@lethbridgeherald.com
A silver lining from the pandemic has been the understanding of mental health and the effects of isolation, according to some researchers in Alberta.
A professor at the University of Lethbridge is working alongside other industry professionals to discover the effects of isolation on the health of mothers and their children.
Gerlinde Metz, U of L professor of neuroscience and board of governors’ research chair, says this can affect anybody, though females are particularly at risk.
“Mothers and elderly, I would say, are especially vulnerable and children as well, born to mothers when they’re socially isolated as a family,” said Metz.
In a news release from July 2, the U of L said this research stems from information gathered during the pandemic.
“The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted an urgent need to improve mental health during an extremely stressful time. Recent studies have shown that pregnant mothers are at higher risk of experiencing social isolation as a stressor, with potential effects on their offspring.”
Metz says, while we became more knowledgeable about this issue four years ago, it is not a new problem, nor was it previously undocumented.
“The (World Health Organization) was already talking about an epidemic of social isolation before the pandemic hit our society.”
Still, this new wave of research, spearheaded, in part, by Metz, is funded by a ‘One Child Every Child Strategic Catalyst Award’, which is worth $50,000 over a two-year period. Over the next 24 months, Metz and her colleagues will be conducting experiments on rats to better understand the mechanisms behind the drivers of isolation.
As a result, pregnant female rats are being isolated from other rats, which, according to Metz, will provide additional stress on the rodents, which are known to be social creatures.
“If we expose mothers to social isolation, it is an involuntary isolation for them, so we resemble the feelings of loneliness,” said Metz. “It’s not their choice to spend the time alone. So, we’re resembling the stress that comes along with feeling lonely for an extended period of time and lacking the peer support system that is so valuable during pregnancy.”
However, Metz says there is a big difference between social isolation and loneliness, even if one often leads to the other.
“Social isolation is something that we can also choose sometimes. We decide to close the door and have time by ourselves,” said Metz. “But loneliness is really more of the negative spin on social isolation because we’re feeling lonely when we open the door and no one comes in.”
Even so, Metz says both isolation and loneliness can affect people deleteriously, whether self-inflicted or not. She pointed to the “lost generation” of Japan, where young people are voluntarily becoming reclusive because they are feeling overwhelmed by the world at large.
The research being carried out could have implications for more than just mothers though, with Metz saying elderly people are also prone to isolation and loneliness.
“Many elderly are actually exposed to social isolation. They lose their social connections, often when they’re living in a secluded home or by themselves or even in a senior’s home,” said Metz. “Often, they lose ties to their family and friends over time.”
Furthermore, Metz says another major purpose of the research is to determine how social isolation and loneliness can contribute to future health problems like anxiety, depression and even physical issues.
“The stress and the adverse mental health outcomes are linked to more complex diseases down the road,” said Metz. “Potentially a higher risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, higher risk of inflammatory diseases and actually a shorter life span as a result of that.”
This, she says, is why this research must be done.
“It is very important, very critical right now to investigate how social isolation becomes this embodied experience and how we can prevent it,” said Metz. “Most of all, what kind of social supports are most valuable, what kind of interventions can we develop to mitigate the effects of the stress associated with social isolation and loneliness?”
Metz confirms this research is humane with no injuries or physical testing done on the rats. Furthermore, she says the rats are returned to their peers after their pregnancy and the results of this research could have a profound impact on humans in the future.
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