Loneliness and acute stress reactivity: A systematic review of psychophysiological studies.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review of observational psychophysiological laboratory studies (CEBM Level 3 by design analogy).
PubMed 29152761 · doi:10.1111/psyp.13031
What was done
Authors conducted a systematic review searching nine electronic databases (PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, Medline, CINAHL Plus, EBSCOhost, PubMed, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Science Direct) through October 2016. They evaluated psychophysiological studies examining associations between loneliness and physiological responses to acute laboratory stressors. Eleven studies met inclusion criteria.
What was found
The abstract reports qualitative findings without numerical effect sizes or statistics. The majority of included studies found that higher loneliness predicted exaggerated physiological reactivity, particularly for blood pressure and inflammatory markers. However, several studies noted blunted cardiac, cortisol, and immune responses. No clear sex- or stressor-based differences emerged.
Why it matters
This synthesis suggests altered physiological reactivity to acute psychological stressors is a plausible biological mechanism linking subjective loneliness to adverse cardiovascular and systemic health outcomes.
Limits
Only 11 studies were identified, and the abstract provides no pooled effect estimates or numerical data. Results across physiological systems are inconsistent (exaggerated vascular/inflammatory vs. blunted cardiac/endocrine responses), and details on participant demographics or potential confounders are absent in the abstract.
Cited by
- supports Loneliness causes spikes in bloodstream cortisol that compromise cardiovascular functioning and the immune system, leading to increased illness and shortened lifespan.