In this article, Dr. Puja Uppal, Family Medicine , shares her expert insights of the findings and provides Missouri residents with evidence-based recommendations for protecting their health. Why This Matters to You
New research reveals that loneliness follows a U-shaped pattern. Loneliness peaks first in youth and then in older age--and decreases during middle adulthood.
What This Means for Your Health
"We're becoming a lonely society. And a lack of social connection poses risks to us that are almost on par with smoking! " Dr. Puja Uppal, Family Medicine
Doctor's Expert Insights About Loneliness and Your Overall Health in St. Louis County, Missouri
Know this: "Loneliness represents a significant, under-recognized determinant of health across an individual's lifespan, with profound implications in older adulthood. Loneliness can increase the risk of developing mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline. Loneliness has also been associated with higher risks of heart disease, stroke, and even premature death. It's important that we recognize loneliness as a serious public health issue and take steps to address it. By increasing social connections, creating age-friendly communities, and providing support to those who are most vulnerable--we can help reduce the negative impacts of loneliness and improve the overall well-being of our aging population. When we look at data from different countries, we see a similar pattern: loneliness among older adults isn't just happening in Missouri. It's a growing problem that's affecting people all over the world. I want you to know that it's not just a local issue, but a global health challenge that we need to pay attention to and address."
Dr. Puja Uppal, Family Medicine. If you live in St. Louis County and struggle with being lonely, you should check out this video. It shows that people who stay positive and social tend to live longer lives. Try learning new skills, playing new instruments, and even just making new friends!
Health News Today: A new study suggests that loneliness is becoming major contributor to worsening mental and physical health.
The Science Made Simple: Key Findings and What They Mean for St. Louis County Residents
What they wanted to know:
The researchers wanted to find out how loneliness changes as people get older and if other variables like age, health, and social factors affect loneliness.
How they did it:
They looked at data from nine long-term studies with over 128,000 people aged 13 to 103 from more than 20 countries. They used similar methods to track loneliness over time and see what factors influenced it.
What loneliness looks like over a lifetime:
They found that loneliness follows a U-shape. It starts high in young adulthood, decreases in middle age, and then increases again in older adulthood. This pattern was similar across all the studies.
What affects overall loneliness:
People who were more isolated, female, younger, less educated, and had more trouble with daily activities reported feeling lonelier on average.
Limitations:
The study mostly focused on baseline factors and Western countries. The researchers noted that there are many more variables that can change over time and affect loneliness.
What's next:
Future research should look at how changes in relationships, health, and other factors relate to changes in loneliness over time. Studies should also consider the quality of relationships, not just the number. More work is needed to understand the effects of different time periods and generations on loneliness.
Conclusions:
A comprehensive new study demonstrates that loneliness peaks in young adulthood and old age, dipping during middle age. This pattern was remarkably consistent across multiple studies and countries, highlighting the universal way loneliness changes as we grow older. The research suggests that combating loneliness requires customized strategies for different life stages. Researchers emphasize the need for future studies to untangle the complex combination of factors influencing loneliness throughout our lives.
Medical News Today: What This Means for Your Health in St. Louis County, Missouri
The Bottom Line: Research shows that we need special programs and strategies to help reduce loneliness for different groups of people at different times in their adult lives. Loneliness starts high in young adulthood, goes down in middle age, and then goes back up in older age.
"There’s a wealth of evidence that loneliness is related to poorer health, so we wanted to better understand who is lonely and why people are becoming lonelier as they age out of midlife so we can hopefully start finding ways to mitigate it..." Eileen Graham, PhD. . (Study Editorial)
Health Facts That Matter: Key Statistics for St. Louis County, Missouri
The following health facts impact your physical health directly!
Did you know there were 1177 deaths from suicide in Missouri in 2021?
19.7% of you in St. Louis County have depression.
18.2% of you in St. Louis County are binge drinkers.
14.2% of you in St. Louis County sate that your mental health is not good for more than 14 days in a month.
All of these variables above play an important role in the outcomes of your overall health.
