Loneliness is a major health problem even deadlier compared to obesity. Researchers have recently gone through 218 studies and suggested this fact.
Loneliness increases the risk of the early death compared to another health problem, obesity. Researchers, performing this study in the U.S., went through 218 studies minutely and revealed the health effects of loneliness and social isolation. It includes people around four million, The Telegraph reported.
The researchers revealed that lonely people suffer from the increased chances of early death by 50 percent. This suggestion came after the comparison between the lonely people and those with better social connections. On the other hand, obesity increases this risk nearly 30 percent among the people under the age limit of 70. That means loneliness is deadlier than obesity.
A major portion of the current population suffers from loneliness. The lead author of the study, Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad, opines that people involved in a workplace should prepare for the financial and social retirement. For these people workplace brings companionship. Dr. Julianne Holt-Lunstad is also a professor of Psychology at the famous Brigham Young University.
Social connection with other persons is a fundamental necessity for a human being as it serves for the survival and the well-being. Infants under the custodial care fail to avail the human contact and often results in death. Social isolation serves as punishment, and many people currently suffer from this isolation. In a word, solitary confinement brings loneliness.
This important research study was presented at the 125th Annual Convention of the famous American Psychological Association. Recent ONS reveals that loneliness capital in Europe is Britain where people are less connected to their neighbors. The inhabitants of Britain are also devoid of any strong friendship compared to people of other parts of the EU.
The Local Government Association opined to treat loneliness as a vital health issue. The Age UK says loneliness "blights the lives" more than a million people with older age. Nearly seventeen percent of the older persons can see neighbors, family, and friends less than once a week, the Campaign to End Loneliness reported. On the other hand, one in ten spends even a month without interacting with loved ones.
Recently a study was performed by the famous University of York regarding the effect of loneliness. According to this study, lonely people bear 30 percent more possibility of heart disease. Notably, the heart disease or strokes are two key reasons responsible for death in Britain.
The Harvard University last year noticed that lonely person with no friends suffered from the increasing levels of a protein that helped in blood-clotting. Blood-clotting causes strokes and heart attacks. The Director of the Campaign to End Loneliness, Laura Alcock-Ferguson, says that social connection is essential for the human happiness. Loneliness is a big problem for the elderly persons.
But the Mental Health Foundation performed a recent study that suggests people who are 18 years to 34 years old suffer from this problem. These people suffer from this problem more often compared to those who are above 55 years old. Studies show adolescents between 20 to 80 percent suffer from loneliness, though only 40 to 50 percent elderly people experience this problem.
Sufficient evidence exists that show loneliness or the social isolation enhances the chances of premature mortality. The Proper strategy is the utmost need of the hour to tackle this crisis. Children should be given social skill training in the schools to address this issue. Doctors should include the social connectedness as a part of the medical screening to control this problem.