Loneliness Is an Epidemic
January 27, 2023
Loneliness has been at “epidemic” levels for several years now. In a 2018 Cigna insurance health survey1,2,3 of 20,000 Americans aged 18 and older, a whopping 46% reported “sometimes” or “always” feeling lonely. More recent studies cited by El Pais4 include a World Health Organization paper from 2021, which found loneliness affected up to 34% of older adults in China, Europe, Latin America and the U.S.
Other recent research found loneliness among adolescents ranged from a low of 9.2% in Southeast Asia to a high of 14.4% in the Eastern Mediterranean region. The highest rate — 21% — was found among elderly Eastern Europeans.5
Effects of Loneliness on Physical Health
While loneliness statistics can be difficult to pin down, the effects of loneliness are well-recognized at this point. Dr. Facundo Manes, a neurologist, neuroscientist and founder of the Neurological Cognitive Institute in Argentina, likens feelings of loneliness to “a biological alarm bell that reminds us that we are social beings,”6 and when this alarm goes off, disease processes are set into motion. Scientists have linked loneliness with a greater risk for:
- Obesity7
- Anxiety9
- Higher levels of perceived stress11
- Reduced immune function13
- Heart disease8
- Dementia10
- Inflammation12
- Poor sleep14,15
A 2011 study16 found that for each 1-point increase on the UCLA loneliness scale,17 an individual is 8% more likely to experience some sort of sleep disruption. Research18 has also shown that lack of sleep has the effect of triggering feelings of loneliness, so the two problems tend to feed on each other.
Loneliness Raises Your Risk of All-Cause Mortality
Loneliness is also strongly linked to reduced life span.19 One 2015 meta-review20 concluded loneliness can raise your risk of dying by as much as 30%. Older adults are also more likely to die within 30 days of emergency surgery when loneliness is a factor.21