Subjective Social Isolationa and Sleep Disturbances: Inflammatory Mechanism in Aging

Social isolation has significant health consequences in older adults, but it is not known how feelings of loneliness and loss of emotional connections lead to increases in disease risk. Given our evidence that social isolation is associated with sleep disturbance, and such sleep difficulties increase inflammation with consequences for a number of medical disorders including cardiovascular disorder, diabetes mellitus, and cancer, this study will examine the relationships between social isolation, sleep disturbance and inflammation in socially isolated older adults. This study will inform the development of potential treatments that target disordered sleep with possible prevention of disease outcomes in older adults who are socially isolated.