Plasma protein signatures of loneliness associated with disease and mortality
2025
Fudan University, Shanghai, China
In this study, the proteomic signatures of social isolation and loneliness were characterized through proteome-wide association study and protein co-expression network analysis based on data from 42,062 participants across 2,920 plasma proteins in the UK Biobank. Proteins linked to these constructs were implicated in inflammation, antiviral responses and complement systems. More than half of these proteins were prospectively linked to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke and mortality during a 14-year follow-up. Moreover, Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis suggested causal relationships from loneliness to five proteins, with two proteins further supported by colocalization. These MR-identified proteins were associated with blood biomarkers and brain regions involved in emotional and social processing and partly explained the connection between loneliness and health issues like cardiovascular disease, stroke, and mortality.
Plasma proteomic signatures of social isolation and loneliness associated with morbidity and mortality
Jianfeng Feng, Barbara J. Sahakian, Wei Cheng
Added on: 02-26-2025
[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02078-1
