Loneliness should be a political priority, says public health expert

Loneliness is costly to individuals and society and needs to be a political priority, a leading expert in public health has said.

Prof Roger O'Sullivan, from the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, said the Covid-19 pandemic has dispelled the myth that loneliness is just an older person's problem, and that measures to address it must now take a life course approach.

Prof O’Sullivan’s comments were contained in an editorial published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) on Wednesday.

It accompanied an analysis which found that loneliness at a “problematic level” – chronic, moderate to severe loneliness – is widespread in many countries.

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Existing evidence has found that loneliness not only affects mental health and wellbeing, but is also linked to a range of physical health problems and early death.

According to the analysis by Australian researchers, which examined 212 estimates for loneliness in 106 countries from 24 studies, there is substantial geographical variation in loneliness.

The lowest prevalence of loneliness was consistently seen in northern European countries (2.9 per cent for young adults; 2.7 per cent for middle-aged adults; and 5.2 per cent for older adults) and the highest in eastern European countries (7.5 per cent for young adults; 9.6 per cent for middle-aged adults; and 21.3 per cent for older adults).

Data was insufficient to make conclusions about trends of loneliness over time on a global scale during the search period between 2000 and 2019, the researchers acknowledged.

However, they added that Covid-19 might have had a profound impact on loneliness.

In the linked editorial, Prof O’Sullivan, said a “key challenge” is not only to understand the prevalence of loneliness but to “segment” the experience of it for groups who are at risk.

“Not everyone has the same risk of becoming lonely: poverty, poor physical or mental health, few community connections, and living alone have been shown to increase the risk of loneliness, both before and during the pandemic,” he said.

“A better understanding is required of the intensity and impact of the experience of loneliness, as well as cultural differences and geographical variations.”

He called for a public health approach to tackle the issue, which means confronting social and structural factors that influence the risk of loneliness.

“It is important to facilitate healthy social choices, making it easier to connect with others in the community, change work environments, and increase opportunities for building trust and social capital,” the editorial states.

“Importantly, protective interventions must be increased, such as public awareness campaigns that deal with stigma and stereotypes around loneliness, valuing community involvement and participation.”

It added: “Finally, governments must recognise the personal, social, and economic costs of loneliness and prioritise both political and financial support for specialised programmes to address it.”