Before the 2020 pandemic, one in five Americans identified as lonely, which added up to 60 million Americans. After 2020, rates of loneliness are unprecedented. As Lissa Rankin, MD spells out in her New York Times bestselling book Mind Over Medicine, the data is clear that loneliness predisposes us to disease and is our primary public health challenge. Loneliness increases mortality by 45%- more so than air pollution (6%), obesity (23%), alcohol abuse (37%). An Alameda County study showed that those with the fewest social ties were three times more likely to die over a nine year period. A UCSF study showed that those who go through their cancer journey alone are four times more likely to die from their disease than those with ten or more friends. Lonely people have higher rates fo heart disease, cancer, dementia, high blood pressure, diabetes, infection, anxiety, depression, insomnia, suicide, and addiction.

Poor social relationships (characterized by social isolation or loneliness) has been associated with a 29% increased risk of heart disease and a 32% increased risk of stroke. Loneliness is associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide.

The health consequences of social isolation and loneliness are significant across the age spectrum and worsen as people age. 

A new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) points out that more than one-third of adults aged 45 and older feel lonely, and nearly one-fourth of adults aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated. Older adults are at increased risk for loneliness and social isolation because they are more likely to face factors such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and hearing loss.