In a fascinating study, Prof Andrew Steptoe and collegues looked at the impact of isolation and loneliness on elderly populations. It is well known that both social isolation and loneliness are associated with increased mortality. However, it is uncertain whether their effects are independent or whether they represent actual emotional pathways through which health is impaired.
A key question for the health and scientific communities is whether social isolation and loneliness are two independent processes. The purpose of Prof Steptoe’s study was to investigate the associations of social isolation and loneliness with mortality in a representative national sample of older men and women. They team tested whether loneliness is partly responsible for the association between social isolation and mortality.
They carried out tests on 6,500 men and women who participated in the second wave of the English Longitudinal Study of Aging (ELSA) in 2004–2005, and tracked mortality until March 2012. The results of the study are a huge asset to the fight against the loneliness epidemic.
Prof Andrew Steptoe also appeared on NPR in American to discuss the findings of the study in an April 2013 interview. The half hour program, ‘Isolation V. Loneliness: The Difference And Why It Matters,’ can be found online at https://www.npr.org/2013/04/03/176145190/isolation-v-loneliness-the-difference-and-why-it-matters
Source: Social isolation, loneliness, and all-cause mortality in older men and women, PNAS
April 9, 2013 – https://www.pnas.org/content/110/15/5797
