Loneliness: An Immunometabolic Syndrome

Abstract

Loneliness has been defined as an agonizing encounter, experienced when the need for human intimacy is not met adequately, or when a person’s social network does not match their preference, either in number or attributes. This definition helps us realize that the cause of loneliness is not merely being alone, but rather not being in the company we desire. With loneliness being introduced as a measurable, distinct psychological experience, it has been found to be associated with poor health behaviors, heightened stress response, and inadequate physiological repairing activity. With these three major pathways of pathogenesis, loneliness can do much harm; as it impacts both immune and metabolic regulation, altering the levels of inflammatory cytokines, growth factors, acute-phase reactants, chemokines, immunoglobulins, antibody response against viruses and vaccines, and immune cell activity; and affecting stress circuitry, glycemic control, lipid metabolism, body composition, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular function, cognitive function and mental health, respectively. Taken together, there are too many immunologic and metabolic manifestations associated with the construct of loneliness, and with previous literature showcasing loneliness as a distinct psychological experience and a health determinant, we propose that loneliness, in and of itself, is not just a psychosocial phenomenon. It is also an all-encompassing complex of systemic alterations that occur with it, expanding it into a syndrome of events, linked through a shared network of immunometabolic pathology. This review aims to portray a detailed picture of loneliness as an “immunometabolic syndrome”, with its multifaceted pathology.