A social factor that is also harmful to health, like smoking

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Forget about diets and exercise. Good relationships can be just as important for the risk of serious health problems such as stroke and cancer.

Whether you have a wonderful, supportive partner or a best friend who is always ready to listen, social relationships play a key role not only in your mental but also in your physical health. In fact, a new study has found that bad relationships can be as dangerous for the risk of diseases like diabetes, stroke, and cancer as smoking.

When we talk about lifestyle medicine, we often talk about five of the six pillars. We talk about physical activity, nutrition, sleep and stress, as well as substances, but we often forget to talk about relationships.

While all of these things are crucial to consider, relationships can be just as “important.”

The research team found that poor relationships with partners, family, friends and even work colleagues can be as detrimental to your health as smoking, alcohol and obesity.

The worse these relationships are in your 40s and 50s, the higher your risk of developing a range of diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, osteoporosis, arthritis, cancer, depression and anxiety, later in life.

“They found that those who have satisfying relationships have a lower risk of developing these types of diseases.”