Loneliness, Less Social Interaction Worsens Symptoms Of Colds; Study Finds

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It is a common practice of people suffering from colds that they isolate themselves so that others will not be infected. But a new study published in the journal Health Psychology discovered that loneliness can worsen colds.

"If you’re already feeling a bit isolated socially, you’re more likely to perceive a cold as a downer," Dr. William Schaffner, infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University Medical Center told ABC News. Colds usually cause patients more socially detached, more distant and depressed because they preferred to stay in bed and sleep. People are recommended to avoid the cold and flu, especially through getting a flu shot, Dr. Schaffner added.

To find evidence, researchers involved 159 paid participants aged 18 to 55 Mail Online reported. They were asked initially how often they felt isolated and left out, and about the range, quality, and diversity of their current social life.

The participants were then infected with the RV39 common cold virus through nasal drops and were isolated in a hotel the next five days. The severity of their symptoms per day was recorded. They were then also asked about the amount of social contact they had in a two-week period.

The researchers eventually found that those who feel lonelier have more severe cold symptoms. Blood and nasal secretion samples were collected at the end of the study. This is to guarantee that each participant was truly infected with the virus.

"Put simply, lonelier people feel worse when they are sick than less lonely people," the authors wrote. But people who were lonelier and have more severe cold symptoms not necessarily mean they had the smallest or lowest social networks, the authors added.

Overall, the participants’ feeling of loneliness didn’t cause them more or less possibly to develop cold symptoms, as per the study. The findings are considered to be preliminary because the number of participants was small, and other health conditions were excluded.