Loneliness and social isolation are costing people nearly six years of life free from mental disorders like depression and anxiety, with smaller but still significant toll on physical health, says team from Tulane University’s Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public and Tropical Medicine. eam has completed first-of-its-kind observational study, published in Nature Communications.
“Overall, study found that social isolation and loneliness can have significant impact on disease-free life expectancy,” said lead author Lu Qi, HCA Regents Distinguished Chair and professor in Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public and Tropical Medicine at Tulane. “This includes both physical and mental disease.”
Loneliness vs Social Isolation – Not Same Thing
While loneliness and social isolation seem interchangeable and connected in everyday language, public health researchers define them in two separate and distinct ways. Social isolation is objective measure of amount of social connection person has, while loneliness is subjective measure of person’s dissatisfaction with quality of their relationships — regardless of how social person actually is.
“The findings weren’t surprising to me,” Qi said. “Previous studies found that social isolation and loneliness are related to mortality, especially premature mortality, and this study provides additional evidence.”
277,489 Adults Tracked From Age 40-69 Free Of 7 Chronic Conditions
Researchers tracked and analyzed data from 277,489 adults, between ages 40 and 69, who began study free of seven major chronic conditions: diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, dementia, cancer, depression and anxiety.
They then measured how loneliness and social isolation affected how many disease-free years people could expect to live, using age 50 as reference point. Compared to counterparts with neither loneliness nor social isolation, women experiencing both lived 2.4 fewer years free of physical disease, and men lived 1.7 fewer years. Toll on mental health was even greater: women lived roughly 3.7 fewer years free of mental disorders, and men lived approximately 5.8 fewer years.
“This comes down to gender differences between men and women,” Qi said. “Our research found men are more susceptible to being affected by loneliness. We also know that women tend to live longer than men. There are gender advantages with certain diseases.”
Healthy Lifestyle Narrows Social Isolation Loss But Not Loneliness Risk
Notably, researchers found that healthier lifestyle — including diet, exercise, sleep and not smoking — measurably narrowed loss of disease-free years linked to social isolation. However, healthier lifestyle did not significantly reduce added health risks of loneliness, suggesting two conditions may call for different kinds of intervention.
In other words, eating well, moving more, sleeping better and not smoking helped buffer physical toll of being objectively isolated, but did not offset subjective feeling of loneliness and its heavy mental health cost. Study underscores that interventions for social isolation like increasing contact opportunities may differ from interventions for loneliness like improving relationship quality, belonging and emotional support.
Q&A
Q: How many years does loneliness cost disease-free life?
A: Tulane study of 277,489 adults 40-69 in Nature Communications found women with both loneliness and isolation lived 2.4 fewer years free of physical disease and 3.7 fewer years free of mental disorders, men 1.7 and 5.8 fewer years vs neither condition at age 50 reference.
Q: What is difference between loneliness and social isolation?
A: Social isolation objective measure of amount of social connection, loneliness subjective dissatisfaction with quality of relationships regardless of how social person actually is, defined separately in public health.
Q: Can healthy lifestyle reduce risks of loneliness and isolation?
A: Healthier lifestyle including diet exercise sleep not smoking narrowed loss linked to social isolation, but did not significantly reduce added health risks of loneliness, suggesting need for different interventions per Lu Qi.
FAQ
1. How large was Tulane loneliness study?
First-of-its-kind observational study tracked 277,489 adults aged 40-69 initially free of diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, dementia, cancer, depression, anxiety, published in Nature Communications.
2. Who led study?
Lead author Lu Qi, HCA Regents Distinguished Chair and professor at Tulane Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public and Tropical Medicine.
3. Why do men lose more mentally healthy years to loneliness?
Researchers found men more susceptible to being affected by loneliness; women tend to live longer; gender advantages with certain diseases contribute to difference 5.8 vs 3.7 years mental disease-free loss.
4. Is loneliness linked to premature mortality?
Previous studies found social isolation and loneliness related to mortality especially premature mortality; new study adds evidence on disease-free life expectancy for both physical and mental disease.
5. What interventions needed for loneliness vs isolation?
Isolation may benefit from more social contact opportunities plus healthy lifestyle; loneliness may need quality-focused interventions addressing relationship satisfaction, emotional support, belonging, since lifestyle alone did not significantly reduce its risks.
Disclaimer: This article for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical or mental health advice
