--- title: "Loneliness Worse for Health Than Smoking, Obesity, Alcoholism" description: "While it might not be regularly considered a high-risk factor, the loneliness epidemic may be harder on one's health than people realize." date: "2024-03-23" modified: "2024-03-23" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/loneliness-worse-than-smoking" categories: - "Health & Medicine" - "Studies" tags: - "Aging" - "loneliness" - "mental health" - "mortality" --- # Loneliness Worse for Health Than Smoking, Obesity, Alcoholism ![While it might not be regularly considered a high-risk factor, the loneliness epidemic may be harder on one's health than people realize.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* While it might not be regularly considered a high-risk lifestyle factor, the so-called [loneliness epidemic]() appears to be an absolutely devastating risk factor for health. In a [press release]() about new research, the Regenstrief Institute data informatics firm said that its study, conducted alongside the Indiana University School of Medicine, suggests that a majority of people aged 65 or older consider themselves lonely — which may well be worse for them than alcoholism, obesity, smoking at least 15 cigarettes per day, or leading a sedentary lifestyle. Published [in the *Journal of the American Geriatric Society*](), this groundbreaking look at what researchers are calling a "biophysical stressor" may help doctors better address this overlooked lifestyle factor that seems to greatly reduce quality of life for seniors. The results were alarming: that nearly 53 percent of seniors identified in a database study experienced loneliness, and among those who experienced it, mental and physical health outcomes were much poorer across demographics and health conditions. As prior research has indicated, [loneliness is associated with greater mortality risks]() than the aforementioned lifestyle factors — though to be fair, the two can be entwined when being lonely leads to [overindulging in food]() and [alcohol](), or [lessen the desire]() or even [ability]() to exercise, depending on whether it's comorbid with other mental health issues such as [depression]() or [anxiety](). "Based on the literature and research, loneliness has influences on health that are quite significant and quite strong," IU research scientist and professor Monica Williams-Farrelly said in the Regenstrief press release. "So in the same way that we ask older adults: 'Do you smoke? Or do you measure your blood sugar?' We should be inquiring about and measuring loneliness and offering solutions." Williams-Farrelly and her colleagues gathered their data by sifting through the Caregiver Outcomes of Alzheimer's Disease Screening study, an ongoing survey that evaluates dementia screening among clinicians. While their specific dataset comes from the [height of the COVID-19 pandemic]() in 2020 and 2021, the researchers said that they'd identified a growing trend in loneliness long before the coronavirus outbreak and its accompanying isolation. "Loneliness may seem simple, but it can be complex to identify and address," the research scientist said. "It started to become a problem before COVID-19, and then with the national stay-at-home order caused by the pandemic, social contact was being prevented, which exacerbated the problem." To help address this loneliness epidemic, which in 2023 was the [subject of an advisory]() from the US Surgeon General's Office because it's [gotten so bad](), the IU and Regenstrief researchers are suggesting that these feelings of isolation be treated as serious health factors — before it's too late. **More on aging adulthood:** [*Doing This Thing While Talking Is a Sign of Oncoming Dementia, Scientists Find*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()