Loneliness can increase the risk of early death. This fact has long been traditional wisdom. Previous studies have shown a clear link between social isolation and mortality, with the US Surgeon General even publishing long recommendations on the “prevalence” of loneliness and isolation that puts Americans at risk.
Of course, it seems intuitive that people who lack social connections don’t like being alone, and suffer from consequences that affect their physical health.
But now, new research has questioned this long-standing belief, and surprisingly, we have discovered that loneliness may not be the threat we all once thought. In fact, the problem may be one of the causes and effects of confusion.
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After all, loneliness may not be the cause of death
To gain more insight into the relationship between loneliness and health, the researchers conducted a global study of home care beneficiaries from three countries.
This population is likely to have a higher rate of loneliness due to complex health needs and mobility issues, and more than 300,000 seniors were included in the study and were selected for the study. This differs from other studies of loneliness, many of which focused on the general population.
Surprisingly, these researchers found that lonely individuals were actually superior to those with strong social connections, and stated that “there was a consistent decline in mortality among lonely home care clients than those who were not alone.”
Although 15% to 25% of home care recipients included in this study showed loneliness, the most likely that health problems were more complicated and lower levels of activity were lonely, but the risk of death was still low.
This, contrary to previous evidence, showed that “lonecy does not predict an increased risk of death when adjusting for age-related confounding factors.”
Why are data on loneliness so different?
The researchers were completely unsure why this research data was so different from previous studies.
However, one theory suggests that previous research is incorrect in the relationship between loneliness and mortality.
While many previous studies have focused on the general population where loneliness is associated with decreased health status, loneliness is also associated with both older age and depressive symptoms in this population. Both of these factors may explain early death rather than loneliness itself.
As the population of this latest study focuses on home care recipients, it is also possible that the most sick people received the most time with caregivers. This added interaction with caregivers may have reduced the risk of loneliness among this vulnerable group.
Previous studies also suggest that solitary people have higher health-seeking behaviors, which can improve health outcomes and reduce the risk of death.
Finally, the researchers suggested that “solination could be the result of those health changes (which lead to mortality).” In other words, changes related to advancement in health can make people more lonely and more likely to die.
How to protect yourself from the risk of loneliness
This study should provide some degree of comfort for older people struggling with social connections. This is because it makes it clear that being alone is not necessarily as fatal as feared.
However, although the specific relationship between loneliness and death is unknown, it is clear that loneliness is a factor that influences some degree of happiness.
Therefore, maintaining social connections can be more challenging without the increased work structure and connections associated with raising young children, but it is important for retirees to continue to build strong social networks.
Joining the club, making regular plans with friends and neighbors, volunteering, and enjoying nature with others are all possible ways to tackle the issue of loneliness.
Those experiencing more severe health problems may also benefit from an increased caregiver time that can reduce the sense of isolation. In particular, the relationship between loneliness and increased mortality is actually caused by health problems that increase the risk of death and social isolation.
