Health effects of social isolation, loneliness
Research has linked social isolation and loneliness to higher risks for a variety of physical and mental conditions: high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, cognitive decline, Alzheimer’s disease, and even death - official CDC website.Furthermore, prolonged loneliness may reduce your lifespan by 10-15 years. For example, if your body is programmed to die at age 80, you will die at age 65 if you experience prolonged loneliness.
Loneliness can shorten a person's life by up to 15 years. This is equivalent to the impact of being obese or smoking 15 cigarettes per day. Loneliness is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, depression, and cognitive decline.
Loneliness Is Harmful to Our Nation's Health
Mar 20, 2019 — Loneliness can be deadly: this according to former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, among others, who has stressed the significant health threat. Loneliness has been estimated to shorten a person's life by 15 years, equivalent in impact to being obese or smoking 15 cigarettes per day.
Scientific American Blog
Loneliness is a public health crisis, comparable to smoking up to 15 ...
Jun 15, 2023 — Loneliness has such far-reaching consequences that the health impact is comparable to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day, according to one study published in the journal PLOS Medicine. Loneliness is associated with an increased risk of heart disease, depression, and cognitive decline.
fortune.com
Curing America's loneliness epidemic would make us healthier, fitter and ...
Jul 14, 2023 — The report reflects Dr. Murthy's personal and professional experience with the damaging health impacts of loneliness. As surprising as it sounds, social isolation and loneliness have the same effect on human health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, which is to say, it can shorten life span by up to 15 years.
theconversation.com
A global study of more than 2.2 million people found that people who reported feeling lonely were more likely to die early from all causes, including cancer. A study of more than 35,000 elderly adults found that social isolation was associated with a 22 percent higher risk of premature death.
According to BYU data, the subjective feeling of loneliness increases the risk of death by 26%.
I don't want to die earlier, I want to live a full life
