Social isolation, loneliness and subsequent risk of major adverse cardiovascular events among individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Abstract

Background Individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are more vulnerable to social disconnection compared with the general population; however, there are few relevant studies investigating this issue. Aims To investigate whether social isolation or loneliness may be associated with subsequent risk of developing major adverse cardiovascular events, whether these associations vary according to fatal and non-fatal outcomes and how behavioural, psychological and physiological factors mediate these associations. Methods This longitudinal analysis included data from 19 360 individuals with T2DM at baseline (2006–2010) from the UK Biobank. Social isolation and loneliness were measured using self-report questionnaires. The study outcomes included the first events of myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke (n=2273) and all-cause (n=2820) or cardiovascular disease-related mortality through linked hospital data or death registries. Results Over a median follow-up of 12.4 years (interquartile range (IQR): 11.6–13.3 years), participants who were more socially isolated (most social isolation vs least social isolation) experienced increased risks for all-cause (hazard ratio (HR) : 1.33, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.19 to 1.47) and cardiovascular disease (HR: 1.36, 95% CI: 1.17 to 1.59) mortality but not first MI or stroke. Loneliness (yes vs no) was associated with a greater risk for a composite of incident MI or stroke (HR: 1.37, 95% CI: 1.19 to 1.57) but not mortality. Social isolation was associated with fatal MI and stroke, whereas loneliness was associated with non-fatal MI and stroke. The significant associations of social isolation and loneliness with outcomes were mainly mediated by behavioural factors (mediating proportion: 17.8%–28.2% and 17.6%–17.8%, respectively). Conclusions Among individuals with T2DM, social isolation and loneliness are associated with a greater risk of developing major adverse cardiovascular events, with differences in both risks stratified according to fatal and non-fatal events and underlying mediating factors. Data are available upon reasonable request. Data may be obtained from a third party and are not publicly available. Individual-level data from the UK Biobank are not publicly available due to their policy, but the data will be made available after the application to the UK Biobank ().