New study reveals the impact of loneliness on our physical health
New research reveals that loneliness harms our physical health. Here’s a very quick overview of the findings, we’ve linked the full study at the foot of this article.
We've long known that loneliness can have detrimental effects on our mental health, but this meta-anyalsis of 90 studies and a cohort of 2.2 million people, published in Nature Human Behaviour, shows its consequences on our physical health too.
The study found social isolation and loneliness play pivotal roles in increasing the risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer-related mortality.
How do we address the public health burden of loneliness?
The authors outline strategies to tackle the issue:
To raise concerns about the adverse health effects of social isolation and loneliness.
Improve health care systems to identify social isolation and loneliness in health care settings so that health care professionals can provide appropriate clinical and public health interventions.
