Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2018 Jun 7;89(2):302-314.
doi: 10.23750/abm.v89i2.7404.

The complexity of loneliness

Javier Yanguas  1 , Sacramento Pinazo-Henandis  2 , Francisco José Tarazona-Santabalbina  3
Affiliations
Review

The complexity of loneliness

Javier Yanguas et al. Acta Biomed. .

Abstract

Loneliness is a prevalent and global problem for adult populations, and a number of different studies have linked it to multiple chronic conditions, including: heart disease, lung disease, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, atherosclerosis, stroke, and metabolic disorders, such as obesity and metabolic disease. Is a major predictor of psychological problems, such as depression, psychological stress, and anxiety. Loneliness is linked to overall morbidity and mortality in adult populations. But limited interventions have demonstrated long-term effectiveness in reducing loneliness in adults with these same chronic conditions. Our research of the extant literature addresses the following question: What evidence exists regarding the relationships between loneliness and health? We focus on recent findings with respect to the links between loneliness and health.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Victor C. Scambler S. Shah S. Cook D. Harris T. Rink E, et al. Has loneliness amongst older people increased? An investigation into variations between cohorts. Ageing & Society. 2002;22(5):585–597.
    1. Sundstrom G. Fransson E. Malmberg B. Davey A. Loneliness among older Europeans. European Journal of Ageing. 2009;6(4):267–275. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Weiss RS. The experience of emotional and social isolation. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press; 1973. Loneliness.
    1. Jylhà M. Old age and loneliness: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses in the Tampere Longitudinal Study on Aging. Can J Aging. 2004;23(2):157–168. - PubMed
    1. Tilvis RS. Routasalo P. Karppinen H. Strandberg TE. Kautiainen H. Pitkala KH. Social isolation, social activity and loneliness as survival indicators in old age; a nationwide survey with a 7-year follow-up. European Geriatric Medicine. 2012;3(1):18–22.