Having bad relationships, whether with a partner, friends or co-workers, is just as harmful to health as having an unhealthy lifestyle, being a smoker or being obese, according to a study published in the February issue of the journal General Psychiatry.
Researchers at the University of Queensland in Australia found that middle-aged women who fail to have satisfying social connections are at greater risk of developing chronic health conditions years later.
To reach their conclusion, the scientists followed the evolution of the health of 7,694 healthy Australian women, aged between 45 and 50 years, over two decades.
At the start of the survey, none of them had been diagnosed with common long-term conditions such as depression, anxiety, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, osteoporosis, arthritis or cancer.
Every three years, participants were asked how satisfied they were with their romantic partners, family, friends, and co-workers. Meanwhile, researchers tracked the onset of the listed diseases.
Anxiety is a kind of psychic condition characterized by constant and excessive worry that something negative might happen. According to researchers from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), it is also a diffuse feeling of discomfort carried by a frequent feeling of apprehension that can trigger disordersPeter Dazeley/Getty Images
****Photo-child-sitting-on-the-floor.jpgAccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), Brazil is the most anxious country in the world, and recorded even more cases of the condition during the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition to adults, anxiety can also manifest itself in children for different reasons, such as parental divorce, tests or problems at school, for example.Elva Etienne/ Getty Images
*****Photo-person-with-hand-over-mouth-2.jpgDespite being considered relatively common, since it can affect anyone for any reason, anxiety becomes a real problem when everything becomes a reason for exaggerated concern and the patient starts to experience seizures.Tara Moore/Getty Images
****Photo-person-with-hand-on-head-2.jpgAn anxiety crisis is a situation that causes a great feeling of anguish, nervousness and insecurity, as if something very bad, and completely out of control, were going to happen at any moment. Getty Images
****Photo-person-sitting-pensive.jpgThe crisis usually arises due to specific stressful situations that generate triggers, such as having to make a presentation, having a short deadline to deliver a work, being somewhere you would not like or having suffered a loss, for exampleTara Moore/Getty Images
****Photo-person-lying-in-fetal-position.jpgAmong the symptoms of an anxiety crisis are: accelerated heartbeat, feeling short of breath, tingling in the body, feeling of lightness in the head, chest pain, nausea, excessive sweating, tremors, among others.Holly Wilmeth/ Getty Images
****Photo-weight-sitting-crying.jpgThese symptoms occur due to the increase in the adrenaline hormone in the bloodstream, something normal when the person faces an important moment. However, if the symptoms become constant, it could signal a generalized anxiety disorder.Klaus Vedfelt/ Getty Images
****Photo-person-sitting-talking-with-another-person-2.jpgWhat to do during an anxiety attack depends on the severity and frequency of the symptoms and, therefore, the ideal is always to receive specialized advice from a psychiatrist or psychologist. MICROGEN IMAGES/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY/ Getty Images
****Photo-person-with-hand-on-chest.jpgDespite this, performing breathing exercises, ingesting calming tea, trying to talk to someone you trust, resting, turning your mind off, doing physical activities you enjoy or trying to keep your thoughts on something that gives comfort are some tips that can help alleviate the problem.Jamie Grill/ Getty Images
****Photo-person-with-hand-on-chest-2.jpgWhen the anxiety crisis happens for the first time, or if you are not sure what is happening, it is important to go to the hospital to ensure that it is not another, more serious problem, such as a heart attack.Science Photo Library/ Getty Images
****Photo-person-sitting-talking-to-another-person-3.jpgIn any case, if crises are frequent, a specialist should be sought to identify the cause and initiate treatment.Fiordalis/ Getty Images
****Photo-person-sitting-talking-with-another-person.jpgAnxiety can trigger problems that, depending on the symptoms, can be classified as generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social phobia, panic syndrome, among others. These problems can have an impact on the patient’s personal and professional life, so the sooner it is diagnosed, the fewer problems will be faced.kupicoo/ Getty Images
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Approximately six out of ten women (58%) have developed more than one of the conditions. The risk of developing multiple diseases was twice as high among those who reported the lowest level of satisfaction with social relationships compared to the most satisfied.
Well-established risk factors such as socioeconomic status, lifestyle and menopause together accounted for less than a fifth of the chances of developing the long-term conditions, according to the researchers.
The results showed that all types of relationships are equally important for health in old age and their quality should be treated as a risk factor.
University of Queensland scientists believe the findings have significant implications for the management and intervention of chronic diseases at individual, community, national and global levels.
“These implications may help advise women about the benefits of initiating or maintaining diverse, high-quality social relationships during midlife and early old age,” the study authors wrote in a statement.
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