PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Lonely adults may have a higher risk of diabetes

2025-07-13
(Press-News.org) SAN FRANCISCO—Socially isolated older adults are at increased risk of developing diabetes and high blood sugar, according to a study being presented Sunday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif.

“Social isolation and loneliness have been increasingly recognized as important health risk factors after the COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings underscore the importance for clinicians to recognize social isolation as a critical social determinant of health when caring for older patients,” said lead researcher Samiya Khan, M.D., of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif. “These findings are especially relevant given the rapidly growing aging population in the United States and globally, alongside the widespread prevalence of social isolation and loneliness among older adults.”

Khan noted that while a few previous studies have explored the connection between social isolation and diabetes, this study is among the first to examine its link to poor glycemic control using a nationally representative sample—data that reflects the broader U.S. population. This makes the findings applicable on a national scale.

Khan and her team analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2003-2008. NHANES is a comprehensive survey program designed to assess the health and nutritional status of adults and children in the U.S.

The researchers studied data from 3,833 adults aged 60 to 84, representing about 38 million older people in the U.S. After adjusting for other factors, they found that socially isolated older adults were 34% more likely to have diabetes and 75% more likely to have poor blood sugar control than those who were not isolated. This suggests that social isolation may be an important but often overlooked risk factor for diabetes and poor blood sugar management in older adults.

“These findings underscore the importance of social connections for the wellbeing of older adults,” Khan said. “Physicians should recognize social isolation as a potential risk factor among elderly patients for both diabetes and high blood sugar.”


# # #

 

Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the world’s oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions. 

The Society has more than 18,000 members, including scientists, physicians, educators, nurses and students in 122 countries. To learn more about the Society and the field of endocrinology, visit our site at www.endocrine.org. Follow us on Twitter at @TheEndoSociety and @EndoMedia.

END



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Intermittent energy restriction may improve outcomes in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes

2025-07-13
SAN FRANCISCO—Intermittent energy restriction, time-restricted eating and continuous energy restriction can all improve blood sugar levels and body weight in people with obesity and type 2 diabetes, according to a study being presented Sunday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif. “This study is the first to compare the effects of three different dietary interventions intermittent energy restriction (IER), time-restricted eating (TRE) and continuous energy restriction (CER) in managing type 2 diabetes with obesity,” said Haohao Zhang, Ph.D., chief physician ...

Grandfather’s environmental chemical exposures may influence when girls get first period

2025-07-13
SAN FRANCISCO—A grandfather’s exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals may impact the age when his granddaughter starts her first period, according to preliminary data being presented Sunday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif. “Girls are starting puberty earlier than ever before, which can raise their risk for health problems later in life,” said lead researcher Xin Hu, PhD, of Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health in Atlanta, Ga. “We wanted to explore why this might be happening by looking at how environmental exposures from grandparents can influence when girls ...

Early-life exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals may fuel food preferences

2025-07-13
SAN FRANCISCO—Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in early life, including during gestation and infancy, results in a higher preference for sugary and fatty foods later in life, according to an animal study being presented Sunday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are substances in the environment (air, soil or water supply), food sources, personal care products and manufactured products that interfere with the normal function ...

Age at woman’s first period can offer clues about long-term health risks

2025-07-13
SAN FRANCISCO—The age at which a woman has her first period can offer valuable clues about her long-term risk for conditions like obesity, diabetes, heart disease and reproductive health issues, according to a study being presented Sunday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif. The Brazilian study found that both early and late menarche—the age when women first get their period—are linked to different health risks. Women who had their first period before age 10 were more ...

AI-powered application enables clinicians to diagnose endocrine cancers faster and more accurately

2025-07-13
SAN FRANCISCO—A novel artificial intelligence (AI) application capable of diagnosing endocrine cancers with speed and accuracy is being presented Sunday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif. The research, presented by Jansi Rani Sethuraj, B.S.N., R.N., C.C.R.N., from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, introduces a universally accessible and computationally efficient AI application. This AI application aims to democratize expert-level cancer diagnostics, ...

Obesity-associated cancers tripled nationwide over past two decades

2025-07-13
SAN FRANCISCO—Cancer deaths linked to obesity have tripled in the United States over the past two decades, according to a study being presented Sunday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif. The study, which examined more than 33,000 deaths from obesity-associated cancers, revealed sharp increases in cancer deaths, especially among women, older adults, Native Americans and Black Americans. “Obesity is a significant risk factor for multiple cancers, contributing ...

Consuming certain sweeteners may increase risk of early puberty

2025-07-13
SAN FRANCISCO—Consuming certain sweeteners commonly found in foods and beverages may increase the risk of early puberty in children, particularly among those who are genetically predisposed, according to a study being presented Sunday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif. The researchers found that consuming aspartame, sucralose, glycyrrhizin and added sugars was significantly associated with a higher risk of early puberty, especially in children with certain genetic traits. The more of these sweeteners the ...

Experts suggest screening women with diabetes for intent to conceive at every doctor visit

2025-07-13
SAN FRANCISCO—A joint guideline released today from the Endocrine Society and the European Society of Endocrinology (ESE) recommends women with diabetes receive proper preconception care and access to emerging diabetes technology and therapeutics to manage their blood sugar before, during and after pregnancy. Adverse pregnancy outcomes such as miscarriages or birth defects are common in individuals with pre-existing diabetes and are often related to modifiable factors such as maternal high blood sugar and body mass index (BMI). Screening women of reproductive age who have diabetes for intent to conceive at ...

Osteoporosis treatment benefits people older than 80

2025-07-12
SAN FRANCISCO—People who are older than 80 should be considered for osteoporosis treatment after a fracture to avoid further risk, according to a study being presented Saturday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif. “The burden of osteoporosis is rising as the global population ages rapidly,” said Gianina Flocco, M.D., a resident at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. “Our study supports the initiation of osteoporosis treatment after a fracture ...

Consuming more protein may protect patients taking anti-obesity drug from muscle loss

2025-07-12
SAN FRANCISCO—Women and older adults taking the anti-obesity drug semaglutide may be at higher risk for muscle loss, but higher protein intake may help prevent muscle loss in these patients, according to a small study being presented Saturday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif. Losing muscle (or lean mass) is a common side effect of weight loss in adults with obesity and may negatively affect metabolism and bone health. This is because muscle helps control blood sugar after meals and plays an important role in keeping bones strong, according to study lead researcher Melanie Haines, M.D., of Massachusetts ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Large community heart health checks can identify risk for heart disease

Past Arctic climate secrets to be revealed during i2B “Into The Blue” Arctic Ocean Expedition 2025

Teaching the immune system a new trick could one day level the organ transplant playing field

Can green technologies resolve the “dilemma” in wheat production?

Green high-yield and high-efficiency technology: a new path balancing yield and ecology

How can science and technology solve the problem of increasing grain yield per unit area?

New CRISPR technique could rewrite future of genetic disease treatment

he new tech that could improve care for Parkinson's patients

Sharing is power: do the neighbourly thing when it comes to solar

Sparring saigas win 2025 BMC journals Image Competition

Researchers discover dementia-like behaviour in pre-cancer cells

Medical pros of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) exaggerated while cons downplayed, survey findings suggest

Experts recommend SGLT-2 and GLP-1 diabetes drugs only for adults at moderate to higher risk of heart and kidney problems

Global study finds heart failure drug spironolactone fails to lower cardiovascular risk in dialysis patients

Deprivation and transport density linked to increased suicide risk in England

Flatworms can replace rats for breakthrough brain studies

Plastic from plants: FAMU-FSU College of Engineering professor uses material in plant cell walls to make versatile polymer

Leaders at Huntsman Cancer Institute drive theranostics expansion to transform cancer care

Thin films, big science: FSU chemists expand imaging possibilities with new X-ray material

66th Supplement to the Check-list of North American Birds publishes today in Ornithology

Canadian crops beat global emissions—even after 17 trips across the Atlantic

ORC2 regulation of human gene expression shows unexpected breadth and scale

Researchers track how iron deficiency disrupts photosynthesis in crucial ocean algae

A Mount Sinai-Led team creates model for understanding how the brain’s decision-making is impacted in psychiatric disorders

A new way to study omega fatty acids

Targeting ferroptosis in cancer stem cells: A promising approach to enhance cancer treatment

As the atmosphere changes, so will its response to geomagnetic storms

First transfer of behavior between species through single gene manipulation

A new network could help predict health problems in your pup

Connecting biofuel and conservation policies

[Press-News.org] Lonely adults may have a higher risk of diabetes