Social isolation linked to decrease bone high quality in males: Study

According to a mouse research offered at ENDO 2023, the Endocrine Society’s annual assembly in Chicago, social isolation could have a dangerous impact on bone health.

“Social isolation is a potent form of psychosocial stress and is a growing public health concern, particularly among older adults,” mentioned lead researcher Rebecca Mountain, Ph.D., of MaineWell being Institute for Research in Scarborough, Maine. “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.'”

Mountain famous that social isolation is related to elevated threat for a lot of well being situations in individuals, together with psychological well being problems, in addition to greater total charges of sickness and loss of life.

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“Previous medical analysis has demonstrated that psychosocial stressors, and subsequent psychological well being problems, are main threat components 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 triggered important 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 consequences of social isolation in human datasets, her analysis crew can 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.

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