Loneliness and Health

Abstract

Definition Loneliness is the distress that accompanies feelings of social isolation and lack of connectedness and belonging. Although people who are married and have close friends tend to be less lonely than those who do not, people can live relatively solitary lives and not feel lonely, and conversely, they can live an ostensibly rich social life and feel lonely nevertheless. As many as 80% of those under 1802years of age and 40% of adults over 6502years of age report being lonely at least sometimes. For as many as 15–30% of the general population, loneliness is a chronic state. Left untended, loneliness has serious consequences for physical and cognitive health and well-being. Description Loneliness and Physical Health and Mortality Loneliness has been shown to predict increased morbidity and mortality (reviewed in Hawkley & Cacioppo, 2010 ). The effects of loneliness seem to accrue over time to accelerate physiological aging and mortality.