THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU INDULGE THOSE SELFISH GENES:

Hello, loneliness: Feeling lonely? You're not alone. With seven million people living on their own, Britain is turning into a nation of loners - and it's making us ill. (Jan Masters, 13/08/2006, Sunday Telegraph)

[I]n a new study by researchers from Scottish and Australian universities, one in three adults say they feel lonely. And they're not the ones crocheting tea-cosies in their twilight years - loneliness levels start to rise at 20, peaking between 40 and 49.

As one of the authors, William Lauder, professor of nursing at the University of Dundee, says, 'This study challenges the belief that people get lonelier as they get older.'

And loneliness isn't just about stoically smiling by day and sobbing into your sauvignon at night: it makes you unwell. 'It can increase the risk of conditions such as heart disease and depression,' says Professor Lauder. 'Previous research has indicated that, health-wise, it carries a similar level of risk to obesity.'

Indeed other studies show it can lower immune function and, as a cause of illness and death, is comparable to a sedentary lifestyle, poor diet and possibly even smoking.

And although loneliness is a condition distinct from depression, it can be a causal factor - a lonely woman is eight times more likely to become depressed.

Research by Dr John Cacioppo, a professor at the University of Chicago's department of psychology, has also established a link between loneliness and high blood pressure.

In a study of college students, all of whom had similar blood-pressure levels, a measurement of the constriction of blood vessels - called the total peripheral resistance (TPR) - was higher in those who were lonely.

While young, the body can compensate, but it becomes an important factor in high blood pressure as you age.

One explanation is that lonely people react differently to stress. They're more anxious, and withdraw rather than solve problems. Another is that they sleep less well, failing to reap the restorative benefits of quality rest.

No wonder some healthcare specialists believe we have to start taking the problem seriously. 'Tackling it is very important as it is a common and potentially health-threatening phenomenon,' agrees Professor Lauder.

And it may become more so, especially as some researchers predict higher levels of loneliness will spread to older sectors of society once the baby-boomers hit retirement, partly because fewer of them are in long-term relationships than earlier generations.

Certainly, more people are living alone now - seven million (four times as many as in 1961), and around 30 per cent of all British households are single occupancy.

And though most people believe they won't live alone forever, many are destined to be disappointed. Projections suggest that by 2031, one in five women between 45 and 50 will never have married and will have no partner, knowing only short-term, informal relationships. What's more, once people live solo they are more likely to continue in that arrangement.

The brights are creating exactly as ugly an existence as they dreamed of.

Posted by Orrin Judd at August 12, 2006 5:45 PM