| 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 | | |
