Int J Angiol. 2025 Apr 9;35(2):83-89. doi: 10.1055/a-2552-8626. eCollection 2026 Jun.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Loneliness has been identified as an important psychosocial factor associated with cardiovascular disease, but the relationship has been underexplored using validated measures.
MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional study analyzed 92 patients from 2018 to 2019 using the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale to evaluate associations between loneliness and coronary artery disease (CAD). Statistical analysis was performed using R v4.4.0. A multivariate logistic regression model assessed the relationship between loneliness scores and CAD, adjusting for age and race/ethnicity. A one-sided Wilcoxon rank-sum test compared loneliness scores between CAD and non-CAD patients.
RESULTS: Age was significantly associated with CAD (odds ratio [OR]: 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.01-1.08, p = 0.0084), whereas loneliness score showed a trend toward significance (OR: 1.03, 95% CI: 0.99-1.07, p = 0.140). No significant associations were found between race/ethnicity or sex and loneliness. In a subgroup analysis of patients ≥ 55 years, loneliness was significantly associated with CAD (OR: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.00-1.12, p = 0.04), whereas age was not ( p = 0.378). Patients aged ≥ 55 years with CAD had significantly higher loneliness scores than those without CAD ( p = 0.044), whereas no significant difference was observed in patients < 55 years ( p = 0.87).
CONCLUSION: While loneliness was not independently associated with CAD in the overall cohort, it was significantly associated with CAD in patients aged ≥ 55 years. This suggests that loneliness may be a relevant factor in cardiovascular health among older adults. This emphasizes the need for health care providers to consider loneliness as a potential risk factor for CAD, alongside traditional risk factors.
PMID:42137765 | PMC:PMC13171201 | DOI:10.1055/a-2552-8626