lonely individuals had a 26% higher risk of dying. This figure rose to 32% if they lived alone.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilhowe/2019/05/03/millennials-and-the-loneliness-epidemic/?sh=6ca0aeda7676
Healthcare tech entrepreneur Will Wright shares the strong impact that loneliness has on our health, and proposes a novel idea for how we can easily connect with others and combat its effect.
Millennials And The Loneliness Epidemic
Scientists have long known that loneliness is emotionally painful and can lead to psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and even hallucinatory delirium. But only recently have they recognized how destructive it is to the body. In 2015, researchers at UCLA discovered that social isolation triggers cellular changes that result in chronic inflammation, predisposing the lonely to serious physical conditions like heart disease, stroke, metastatic cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease. One 2015 analysis, which pooled data from 70 studies following 3.4 million people over seven years, found that lonely individuals had a 26% higher risk of dying. This figure rose to 32% if they lived alone.