Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality

By J. Holt‐Lunstad, Timothy B. Smith, M. Baker, T. Harris, David Stephenson. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 2015

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The psychology of the COVID-19 pandemic: A group-level perspective. (2020, background): “Holt-Lunstad et al. (2015) found, even after accounting for multiple factors, that increased likelihood of death was 26% for reported loneliness, 29% for social isolation, and 32% for living alone.”
New Ways of Theorizing and Conducting Research in the Field of Loneliness and Social Isolation (2018, methodology): “Based on a meta-analysis across seventy prospective studies Holt-Lunstad et al. (2015) found a significant effect of social isolation, loneliness and living alone on the odds of mortality.”
The Neurobiology of Social Distance (2020, neutral): “5 million people over an average of ~7 years [16]: social isolation, living alone, and feeling lonely increased the chances of dying by ~30%, even after accounting for age, sex, and health status.”
How important are the common factors in psychotherapy? An update (2015, background): “In fact, perceived loneliness is a significant risk factor for mortality, equal to or exceeding smoking, obesity, not exercising (for those with chronic cardiac disease or for healthy individuals), environmental pollution, or excessive drinking (22-24).”
Students under lockdown: Comparisons of students’ social networks and mental health before and during the COVID-19 crisis in Switzerland (2020, background): “Those individuals are also more at risk for serious health conditions [42, 43].”