Loneliness widespread among U.S. residents ages 50 to 80, poll shows
1 of 2 | The National Poll on Healthy Aging, published Monday in JAMA, shows that more than one-third of people ages 50 to 80 feel lonely, and almost nearly as many feel isolated. Photo by Andrew Neel/Pexels
Fewer older U.S. residents feel as lonely and isolated as they did during the COVID-19 pandemic, but many still feel alone, a new poll reveals.
The National Poll on Healthy Aging, published Monday in JAMA, shows that more than one-third of people ages 50 to 80 feel lonely, and almost nearly as many feel isolated.
A team from the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation in Ann Arbor conducted the poll, which was supported by AARP.
Some older adults, particularly those with significant physical health or mental health challenges, are most vulnerable, the poll found.
“Loneliness and social isolation are important health issues. Just like any other medical issue, we need to think about them that way,” the study’s lead author, Dr. Preeti Malani, told UPI.
“Chronic loneliness can affect your physical health, your mental health, even longevity and cognition — memory,” said Malani, a professor of medicine who specializes in infectious diseases at the University of Michigan.
Since 2018, and most recently earlier this year, the poll asked older adults nationwide how often they had experienced a lack of companionship and felt isolated.
In 2024, 33% of older adults sensed being lonely sometimes or often in the past year, about the same as in 2018 (34%). During the years in between, as many as 42% of older adults experienced this degree of loneliness.
Likewise, 29% of older adults said they felt isolated sometimes or frequently in 2024, just above the 27% rate in 2018. During the pandemic’s early months, 56% of older adults said they had encountered this level of isolation, but the rate has fallen each year since then.
While these statistics may appear encouraging, the degrees of loneliness and isolation have reverted to where they were before COVID-19.
“Clinicians should ask about social isolation and loneliness the same way they might ask about diet and exercise,” said Malani, who has additional training in geriatrics. “We should think of it as a serious health concern, not an inevitable thing.”
Also, “families and friends should also be aware that older adults can be lonely and isolated,” she said. In picking up the phone or crossing the street, “we can all reach out to the older adults in our lives.”
Other experts noted that the study helped emphasize the importance of maintaining human interactions to promote optimal health.
“Loneliness and social isolation should be treated as a public health problem, not merely an individual one,” said Ellen McCreedy, an associate professor in the Center for Gerontology and Healthcare Research at Brown University’s School of Public Health in Providence, R.I. She was not involved in the study.
“Solutions will likely require changes to social, housing and healthcare policies that affect the way we age in our society,” McCreedy said.
While educational and career opportunities have led people to move farther from their close relatives, new connections are attainable through houses of worship, book clubs and neighborhood groups, she said.
“They’re all part of the social fabric when you don’t live near your biological family,” McCreedy said, highlighting the positive influence of communities and networking. “You make family where you are.”
Being socially isolated may spell negative consequences for some older adults, but not others, said Howard Degenholtz, a professor of health policy and management at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health.
“Many people have rich and full lives and do not have contact with a lot of people,” Degenholtz said.
The study nonetheless calls attention to an issue the U.S. Surgeon General raised in a May 2023 advisory about the “devastating impact” of a loneliness and isolation epidemic, he said.
“It reminds us that we need to care for each other. We need to tend to our relationships, and we need to nurture the structures in society that provide mutual support,” Degenholtz said, asking “Are our communities accessible and engaging older adults?”
Older adults were isolated pre-pandemic due to the typical loss of family members and friends as people age, but the onset of COVID-19 made that isolation worse, said Missy Malone, a senior professor of practice at Tulane University’s School of Social Work in New Orleans.
“It was an opportunity for society to truly see the unmet needs of our older adults regarding the importance of socialization,” Malone said.