Loneliness in Parkinson’s disease can increase the risk of symptom severity

Reviewed by Emily Henderson, B.Sc.November 18, 2020

Research from UCLA scientists and colleagues from other institutions finds that people with Parkinson’s disease who do not have significant social interactions may be at increased risk for severe disease-related symptoms.

The study, which was published in the journal Parkinson’s disease of NPJassessed not only the patients’ social and emotional lives, but also their eating and exercise habits.

Over a 5-year period, from 2014 to 2019, researchers from UCLA, the University of Washington and Bastyr University gathered information from 1,500 people with Parkinson’s disease. Study participants were most recently interviewed in December. Participants who reported being more lonely also reported exercising less, were less likely to eat healthier diets, and experienced a lower quality of life.

“This surprised us,” says study author Dr Indu Subramanian, a neurologist at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine and director of Southwest Veteran Affairs Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education and Clinical Centers.

“One of the most damaging things is actually being alone,” Subramanian says. The negative impact of loneliness on symptom severity, she says, was as great as the positive effect of exercise.

Millions of people have reduced their social interactions to stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. While this is a good practice for avoiding a virus, the isolation and loneliness that comes with it can create a health risk that may be particularly difficult for people with Parkinson’s who sometimes limit interactions due to adverse symptoms of the disease such as tremor.

Subramanian and the rest of the team recently sent out a new survey to study participants to gather data on how the pandemic has affected their symptoms.

Patients who have happy family lives can also suffer from loneliness, he adds, although this may seem counterintuitive.

People thrive in three spheres of social interaction: one is the intimate connection of a marriage or a couple; the next larger sphere is a circle of friends; and the third is membership in a group with a shared sense of identity.

For people with Parkinson’s disease, they may be in a support group. It could even be something like a book club. “

Dr. Indu Subramanian, Neurologist, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

To support that shared sense of identity during the pandemic, Subramanian has started a virtual support group, which meets two or three times a week, for people with Parkinson’s disease.

“It’s called social prescribing, because you literally prescribe your patients to be more socially connected,” Subramanian says. “It has actually grown to be an international patient group. People have grown to have fun and connect through it. Some people have told me it’s the only social thing they do.”