A claim you hear on longevity podcasts
The claim checked: Chronic loneliness raises the risk of early death by up to 30% Hear it at 19:19
Seven studies linked loneliness to a higher risk of death, 1.14 to 1.96 times higher where they gave a figure; in the other three the link faded after adjusting for health and other factors.
Computed from 10 studies that test this point, each judged by two readers, in full. 5 more studies are waiting for a full read and do not count yet.
“some metaanalyses out there have suggested that chronic loneliness might be as harmful for us as smoking 15 cigarettes per day. We also know that chronic loneliness increases the risk of premature death by up to 30%.”
other primary study · 2012 · landmark
“Net of sociodemographic characteristics, social relationships, and health behaviors, older adults with the highest levels of loneliness were 1.96 times more likely to die within six years than those with the lowest levels of loneliness.”
Loneliness, health, and mortality in old age: a national longitudinal study. Soc Sci Med
Who: US nationally representative adults aged 50+ (Health and Retirement Study)
PMID 22326307
pooled analysis · 2018 · landmark
“The overall combined HR were 1.22 [95% CI = (1.10, 1.35); p < 0.001], indicating a harmful effect of loneliness on all-cause mortality.”
Association of loneliness with all-cause mortality: A meta-analysis. PLoS One
Who: adults 18+ in prospective cohort studies of loneliness and mortality, mostly general populations aged 50+ in Europe, the US, Israel and China
PMID 29300743
pooled analysis · 2020 · landmark
“We found that the risk of mortality remains elevated in loneliness even after controlling for social and behavioural factors, suggesting involvement of biological mechanisms 19 which we incorporated into our conceptual framework ( Figure 2 ).”
Loneliness, social isolation, cardiovascular disease and mortality: a synthesis of the literature and conceptual framework. J R Soc Med
Who: Studies of adults over 18 in middle- and high-income countries examining loneliness, social isolation, cardiovascular disease and mortality (any design)
PMID 32407646
pooled analysis · 2025 · landmark
“For the association between loneliness and all-cause mortality, the combined HR was 1.14 (95% CI: 1.10–1.18, P = 0.00), indicating a significant increase in all-cause mortality risk (Fig. 2 ).”
Loneliness, social isolation, and living alone: a comprehensive systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression of mortality risks in older adults. Aging Clin Exp Res
Who: Older adults (mostly >=65; some 50-65 if >=75% over 65), general population plus CVD, cancer, T2DM, hip fracture subgroups
PMID 39836319
other primary study · 2025 · landmark
“Item-level analyses found that loneliness was the neuroticism item most predictive of mortality (HR=1.46, 95%CI=1.43–1.49), especially in males.”
Neuroticism, loneliness, all-cause and cause-specific mortality: A 17-year study of nearly 500,000 individuals. J Affect Disord
Who: Community-dwelling UK Biobank adults aged 38-73 at baseline (mean 56.6, 54.5% female)
PMID 39288835
trial or observed group · 2010
“Those identified as “situationally lonely” (HR = 1.56; 95% CI: 1.52–1.62) as well as those identified as “chronically lonely” (HR = 1.83; 95% CI: 1.71–1.87) had a greater risk for all cause mortality net of the effect of possible demographic and health confounders.”
Situational versus chronic loneliness as risk factors for all-cause mortality. Int Psychogeriatr
Who: 7,638 Americans aged over 50 in the Health and Retirement Study who answered the loneliness item in 1996, 1998 and 2000
PMID 20003631
other primary study · 2014
“The hypothesis that loneliness is associated with increased mortality risk is supported by the data.”
Loneliness and mortality among older adults in China. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci
Who: nationally representative sample of Chinese adults aged 65-105 (Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, 2002-2008)
PMID 24550354
other primary study · 2013 · landmark
“However, the effect of loneliness was not independent of demographic characteristics or health problems and did not contribute to the risk associated with social isolation.”
Social isolation, loneliness, and all-cause mortality in older men and women. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Who: men and women aged 52 and older in wave 2 (2004-2005) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, representative national sample
PMID 23530191
other primary study · 2017 · landmark
“The minimally adjusted hazard ratio for mortality risk related to loneliness was 1·38 (95% CI 1·30–1·47), which reduced to 0·99 (95% CI 0·93–1·06) after full adjustment for baseline risks.”
Contribution of risk factors to excess mortality in isolated and lonely individuals: an analysis of data from the UK Biobank cohort study. Lancet Public Health
Who: UK Biobank men and women aged 40-69 (mean 56.5)
PMID 28626828
other primary study · 2019
“After adjustment for all covariates the observed effect was no longer significant (HR = 1.07, p = .22).”
Loneliness, Living Alone, and All-Cause Mortality: The Role of Emotional and Social Loneliness in the Elderly During 19 Years of Follow-Up. Psychosom Med
Who: 413 very old adults (mean age 84.5, range 70-103) from the Berlin Aging Study; 253 living alone, 160 not
PMID 31094903
None.
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