Is loneliness in your DNA? Study reveals some people are ‘genetically programmed to get depressed when they feel neglected’

Loneliness could be in your DNA, a new study reveals.

For decades, scientists have been grappling to understand why solitude affects some people more than others, and many have tried to find a link to genetics.

And now, the University of California San Diego has offered an answer with the largest genome-based investigation on loneliness.

They found our environment is one of the most powerful influences on our feelings. 

But they also discovered that certain genes make some people more alert to social relations, triggering depression when they feel neglected.

Certain genes make some people more alert to social relations, triggering depression when they feel neglected, a new study claims

These feelings dramatically increase one’s likelihood of leading an unhealthy lifestyle, affecting their physical and mental health. 

Indeed, studies show loneliness is an even more accurate predictor of early death than obesity.  

To better understand who is at risk, the research team conducted the first genome-wide association study for loneliness.

They looked at loneliness as a life-long trait, rather than a temporary state.  

The study consisted of more than 10,000 people aged 50 years and older.

Data was collected by the national Health and Retirement Study.

Participants were asked questions which have been designed over time by psychiatrists to measure loneliness, without mentioning the word ‘lonely’. 

• How often do you feel that you lack companionship?
• How often do you feel left out?
• How often do you feel isolated from others?

The researchers found up to 27 per cent of people who reported loneliness had the same genetic predisposition. 

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That reflects previous estimates – in fact the figure is slightly lower than previously thought. 

What was intriguing about this study was the finding that our brains react to loneliness in the same way that our brains respond to pain.

Physical pain alerts us to potential tissue damage and motivates us to take care of our bodies.

Equally, loneliness sets off a warning system that alerts us of damage to our ‘social bodies’, lead researcher Dr Abraham Palmer explained in the study published on September 15 by Neuropsychopharmacology.

Dr Palmer, professor of psychiatry and vice chair for basic research at UC San Diego School of Medicine, said each individual has a preferred social situation, that they compare to their actual life.  

This is different for everyone. 

‘For two people with the same number of close friends and family, one might see their social structure as adequate while the other doesn’t,’ Dr Palmer said. 

‘And that’s what we mean by “genetic predisposition to loneliness” – we want to know why, genetically speaking, one person is more likely than another to feel lonely, even in the same situation.’ 

The study is not the first to try to find a biological link to loneliness.  

Studies have looked at how genes could affect hormones in a person’s brain – i.e.: how much dopamine and serotonin (happy hormones) are released.

However, this study appears to be the largest on the subject to date.   

The researchers also determined that loneliness tends to be co-inherited with neuroticism – a long-term negative emotional state – and depression. 

Weaker evidence suggested links between heritable loneliness and schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder. 

In contrast to previous studies, the researchers did not find loneliness to be associated with variations in specific candidate genes, such as those that encode dopamine or oxytocin.

According to Dr Palmer, these results could differ from previous loneliness findings in part because the team exclusively surveyed older adults in the United States, whereas other research groups looked at young adults in Europe.

Dr Palmer and team are now working to find a genetic predictor – a specific genetic variation that would allow researchers to gain additional insights into the molecular mechanisms that influence loneliness.