N THE surface, Framingham, | | whereabouts in the next two to four |
Massachusetts looks like any other | | years. Most importantly, they were |
American town. Unknown to most who | | asked to describe their relationship with |
pass through this serene place, | | each person as friend, spouse, sibling, |
however, it is a gold mine for medical | | neighbour or colleague. The original |
research. Since 1948 three generations | | purpose of such questions was to help |
of residents in Framingham have | | the researchers behind the heartdisease |
participated in regular medical | | project stay in touch with |
examinations originally intended to | | participants even when they moved out |
study the spread of heart disease. In | | of Framingham. But the loneliness team |
the years since, researchers have also | | immediately recognised them as a way |
used Framingham to track obesity, | | to [id:99437] social interactions. |
smoking and even happiness over long | | Between 1983 and 2001, even more |
periods of time. Now a new study that | | useful information was collected by Dr |
uses Framingham to analyse loneliness | | Cacioppo and his colleagues, allowing |
has found that it spreads very much like | | them to analyse the formation and |
a communicable disease. | | transmission of isolation. |
Feeling lonely is more than just | | They report in the Journal of |
unpleasant for those who yearn to be | | Personality and Social Psychology that |
surrounded by warm relationships – it is | | loneliness formed in clusters of people, |
[id:99435]. Numerous studies show that | | and that once one person in a social |
loneliness reduces fruit-fly lifespans, | | network started expressing feelings of |
increases the chances of mice | | loneliness, others within this person’s |
developing diabetes, and causes a host | | network would start to feel [id:99438]. |
of adverse effects in people, including | | Those who had immediate contact with |
cardiovascular disease, obesity and | | lonely people were around 50% more |
weakening of the immune system. | | likely than average to feel lonely |
Simply being surrounded by others is | | themselves. |
[id:99436]. In people, the mere perception | | Yet these findings are only the first |
of being isolated is more than enough | | step. The team of researchers is |
to create the bad health effects. | | starting to look at other towns and |
However, in spite of its significant | | cities, to see if there are any public |
impact, precious little is known about | | policies or city-planning techniques that |
how loneliness moves through | | 33 the spread of loneliness. No |
communities. | | solutions have been discovered so far, |
Keen to shed some light on the | | but through the process of studying |
mystery, John Cacioppo of the | | other communities the researchers |
University of Chicago and his | | have discovered that when it comes to |
colleagues turned to the Framingham | | having clusters of lonely people, |
data. They found that all participants in | | Framingham, unfortunately, is very |
the study were routinely asked to list | | much like any other town in America. |
people who would probably know their | | |