Experts are beginning to observe how the loneliness epidemic is influencing cancer rates and mortality in the U.S., according to analysis published Dec. 2 in Cancer Cytopathology.
Written by Boston-based Mass General Hospital pathologist William Faquin, MD, PhD, and Bryn Nelson, PhD, the analysis makes the connection between increased social isolation and an increased risk of cancer.
Here are nine things to know from the analysis:
- In 2023, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, MD, called loneliness and isolation a public health crisis, and the World Health Organization declared loneliness a global health threat. These problems likely have been amplified by effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the authors said.
- Frank Infurna, PhD, a professor of psychology at Arizona State University in Tempe, told the authors that loneliness is particularly notable among baby boomers and members of Generation X.
- Dr. Infurna led a study of 45- to 65-year-old people from the U.S. and 13 European countries and found that baby boomers had the highest levels of loneliness overall.
- The study also found that baby boomers in the U.S. were lonelier than those in other countries.
- "I think it's a bigger problem than we're acknowledging," Kerri Winters-Stone, PhD, exercise scientist and professor in the division of oncological sciences at Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University, said in the analysis.
- Dr. Winters-Stone also highlighted the unusual nature of cancer-related loneliness, "You don't have people that you can talk to and confide in about your cancer diagnosis."
- Hyunjung Lee, PhD, principal scientist on the American Cancer Society's cancer disparities research team, led a 2023 study that found working-age U.S. adults living alone have a higher risk of cancer-associated death compared to those who live with others.
"Individuals who are socially isolated are more likely to smoke but less likely to maintain a healthy diet, sleep and physical activity or seek and adhere to medical care when needed," Dr. Lee told the authors. "Social isolation is also associated with stress, depression and loneliness, which involves the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and autonomic nervous system, leading to angiogenesis and promotion of tumor growth, which can result in accelerated cancer progression and death." - The association between living alone and increased cancer mortality in the U.S. was highest in non-Hispanic White adults, lower in non-Hispanic Black adults, and absent in Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native and Asian adults.
- Dr. Lee said patient navigation programs may provide a solution, helping to increase cancer screening rates while leading to earlier diagnosis and treatment.
Read the full analysis here.