Wellnews by Scott LaFee

Lonely hearts are aging hearts. A new study, published in the journal Psychology and Aging, by researchers at Cornell University, reports that the social pain of loneliness appears to accelerate the heart's normal aging process, increasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.

After assessing the study participants' perceived sense of isolation (loneliness), the researchers measured cardiovascular reactivity and recovery in 91 young adults (ages 18 to 30) and 91 older adults (ages 65-80) who were asked to give a speech and do some mental arithmetic in a lab setting. Blood pressure readings were taken before, during and after the tests.

"The most striking thing we found was that the cardiovascular response of the lonely young adults to the social stressor task looked more like that of the nonlonely older adults," said lead author Anthony Ong, an associate professor of human development.

Not surprisingly, older adults had higher resting blood pressure, greater cardiovascular stress reactivity and longer cardiovascular recovery times compared with younger adults. Ong said loneliness increased each of these measures but had even greater negative effects in older adults, putting them at the greatest risk.

"I think it's helpful to distinguish the emotional pangs that are associated with acute loneliness from the more chronic feelings of distress that accompany perceived deficits in the quality of our social relationships," Ong said. "Viewed from this perspective, acute loneliness may be seen as adaptive, signaling us to repair social connections. However, it is the persistence of loneliness over time that may set the stage for health problems in later life."

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

Seven percent of Americans claim they rarely or never bathe. (If you're next to one, you'll know.)

GET ME THAT. STAT!

More than half of all doctors in Finland are female.

NUMBER CRUNCHER

A serving of onion-flavored mini-Funyuns (49.6 grams) contains 260 calories, 126 from fat.

It has 14 grams of total fat or 22 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains zero milligrams of cholesterol; 400 mg of sodium (17 percent); 30 grams of total carbohydrates (10 percent); 1 gram of sugar and 3 g of protein.

COUNTS

41.7 — Percentage of stroke patients who undergo brain imaging within the recommended 25 minutes of arrival at a U.S. hospital

Source: Adam Kelly, University of Rochester

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Gamophobia — fear of marriage or commitment

NEVER SAY DIET

The Major League Eating speed-eating record for pulled-pork sandwiches is 45 in 10 minutes, held by Joey Chestnut.

BEST MEDICINE

A veterinarian was feeling ill and went to see her doctor.

The doctor asked her all of the usual questions: about symptoms, how long had they been occurring, etc. After many minutes of inquiry, she interrupted the doctor and said, "Hey look, I'm a vet. I don't need to ask my patients all of these kinds of questions. I can tell what's wrong just by looking. Why can't you?"

The doctor nodded, then proceeded to look the sick vet up and down. Finally, he wrote a prescription and gave it to the veterinarian. "Here you go," he said. "Of course, if this doesn't work, we'll have to put you down."

OBSERVATION

"I am pretty sure that, if you will be quite honest, you will admit that a good rousing sneeze, one that tears open your collar and throws your hair into your eyes, is really one of life's sensational pleasures."

— American humorist Robert Benchley (1889-1945)

LAST WORDS

"Now why did I do that?"

— English general William Erskine (1770-1813) after jumping from the window of a tall building in Lisbon, Portugal

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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