The New York Times (3/17, Parker-Pope) reports in its “Well” blog that research published in the journal Perspectives on Psychological Science reveals “just how bad loneliness and social isolation, even for people who prefer their own company, can be for health.” After analyzing “data collected from 70 studies and more than 3.4 million people from 1980 to 2014,” researchers found that “people who were socially isolated, lonely or living alone had about a 30 percent higher chance of dying during a given study period than those who had regular social contact.” In addition, “the effect was greater for younger people than for those over 65,” the study found.
Related Links:
— “The Toll of a Solitary Life,”Tara Parker-Pope, The New York Times, March 16, 2015.