Page 5 - Mecklenburg_Medicine_May-2020

President’s Letter

The Isolation Epidemic

ABy John R. Allbert, MD yearnings can be ignored. For this reason, in Canada, the federal
s I write this, Mecklenburg County is starting its government has allocated funding for projects designed to reduce
second week of Shelter in Place. For introverts, this social isolation. The United Kingdom has launched a loneliness
order was a dream come true at first, but after a while, initiative as well, and has implemented a Minister for Loneliness.
the isolation is becoming a burden. Many families Physicians are empowered to offer “social prescribing” and direct
are enjoying dinners at home every night with all their children back patients to community workers who provide tailored support.
home from college and boarding schools, and with recent graduates
who are now able to work from home. For others, especially the Just recently, we lost another admired physician colleague to
elderly in nursing homes, the pain of loneliness is overwhelming. suicide. It is not easy to determine why some people choose this way
Individuals in assisted-living centers are not allowed to have visitors, to solve their problems, but the single most effective intervention in
and their condition is beginning to deteriorate much faster than preventing suicide in someone who is considering it is for someone to
would have been expected. Human-to-human connection is a key say, “I care about you.”
evolutionary development critical for survival.
The three priorities of your MCMS Board are to 1) promote
Loneliness is increasing and has been referred to as a growing advocacy, 2) make it easier for physicians to volunteer in the
epidemic. Going to church is a great way to meet new people and community and 3) promote connection. Our spring events have
see old friends, and yet every year, fewer and fewer people across been canceled, but when the Shelter In Place order is lifted, grab a
the country report going to church regularly. New technology may colleague and come connect with your fellow health providers at one
be contributing to the epidemic, as well. I recall hearing the electric of the events we will have this fall. In fact, consider contacting us on
clothes dryer and the refrigerator were the two first inventions most how you can help with an event.
responsible for decreased socialization. Neighbors stopped talking
to each other over the fence while hanging their clothes to dry in the Respectfully yours,
back yard, and they no longer had to go to the neighborhood bar to
get a cold beer. An AARP survey reports that as people increasingly References
use social media, they feel more lonely. And, as individuals, we are 1 Menec VH, PLOS ONE 2020;15(3): e02306073. Examining social isolation and
much wealthier than humans ever have been. Personal wealth makes
it easier for individuals to live in apartments or homes alone. loneliness in combination and in relation to social support and psychological
distress using Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging data
Over the past four decades, social isolation and loneliness have been 2 Holt-Lunstad J, Perspect Psychol Sci 2015;10:227-37
studied extensively and are as strong a risk factor for cardiovascular
disease, Type II diabetes, arthritis, dementia and early death as Events to Be Re-Scheduled Due to COVID-19
smoking and being obese. Social isolation can be measured by how Women Physicians Section Meet & Greet
much emotional support one receives and the support someone has to
perform everyday tasks. Researchers evaluate whether the subject has Red Rocks SouthPark
someone to talk to, confide in, and have a good time with, and if they
have someone who gives them love and affection. Welton Society Spring Luncheon
Topic:“CBD Oil Truth or Consequences”
Loneliness can be defined as a mismatch between the quantity Speakers: Farrukh Sair, MD, and Nicole Burnette
and quality of social relationships people have versus what they want.
Someone with a large social network can be lonely and someone Charlotte Country Club
who is socially isolated may not feel lonely. In a study by Menec et
al,1 subjects were asked how often they felt lonely. If the answer was Membership Meeting
“three or more times a week” they were classified as lonely. The study Speaker: Robyn Stacy-Humphries, MD
confirmed that loneliness alone and loneliness combined with social Whitehead Manor Conference Center
isolation were associated strongly with psychological distress. Julianne
Holt-Lunstad, PhD, in a meta-analysis of 70 studies involving 3.4
million people,2 said the prevalence of loneliness peaks in adolescence
and young adulthood, then again in the oldest of the old.

Where the sensation of physical pain motivates us to pull our
hand away from a hot stove and the feeling of thirst prompts us to
drink, the feeling of loneliness should lead us to seek more social
interaction. However, if you are confined by yourself in a nursing
home, or limited in leaving your home by a chronic illness, these

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