Social isolation, loneliness, genetic susceptibility, and the hazard of incident osteoporosis.

BACKGROUND

To explore the association of social isolation and loneliness with risk of incident osteoporosis; and test the modification effects of genetic susceptibility.

METHODS

A total of 452 433 participants without osteoporosis at baseline were included from the UK Biobank cohort. Social isolation and loneliness were assessed at baseline via self-reported questionnaires. Cox regression models were used to observe the associations of social isolation and loneliness with risk of incident osteoporosis, as well as their joint associations with genetic susceptibility.

RESULTS

During a median follow-up of 13.8 years, a total of 13 817 incident osteoporosis cases were recorded. Compared with participants with a social isolation index of 0, those with an index ≥2 had a higher risk of osteoporosis, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.18 (95% CI, 1.11-1.25) and a P -trend < 0.001. Compared to participants with an index of 0 for loneliness, the HR and 95% CI were 1.25 (95% CI, 1.17, 1.34) for those with a loneliness index of 2 ( P -trend < 0.001). In addition, we found that the increased risks of osteoporosis related to social isolation and loneliness were strengthened by the genetic susceptibility to osteoporosis.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that social isolation and loneliness are related to a higher risk of incident osteoporosis, and the associations were strengthened by the genetic susceptibility to osteoporosis.