Medical Dialogues
  • Dermatology
Login Register
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
Login Register
  • MD Brand Connect
  • Vaccine Hub
  • MDTV
    • Breaking News
    • Medical News Today
    • Health News Today
    • Latest
    • Journal Club
    • Medico Legal Update
    • Latest Webinars
    • MD Shorts
    • Health Dialogues
  • Fact Check
  • Health Dialogues
Medical Dialogues
  • Medical News & Guidelines
      • Anesthesiology
      • Cardiology and CTVS
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diabetes and Endocrinology
      • ENT
      • Gastroenterology
      • Medicine
      • Nephrology
      • Neurology
      • Obstretics-Gynaecology
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Pediatrics-Neonatology
      • Psychiatry
      • Pulmonology
      • Radiology
      • Surgery
      • Urology
      • Laboratory Medicine
      • Diet
      • Nursing
      • Paramedical
      • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
      • Doctor News
      • Government Policies
      • Hospital & Diagnostics
      • International Health News
      • Medical Organization News
      • Medico Legal News
      • NBE News
      • NMC News
  • Fact Check
      • Bone Health Fact Check
      • Brain Health Fact Check
      • Cancer Related Fact Check
      • Child Care Fact Check
      • Dental and oral health fact check
      • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
      • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
      • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
      • Fitness fact check
      • Gut health fact check
      • Heart health fact check
      • Kidney health fact check
      • Medical education fact check
      • Men's health fact check
      • Respiratory fact check
      • Skin and hair care fact check
      • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
      • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Siddha
    • Unani
    • Yoga
  • State News
      • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
      • Andhra Pradesh
      • Arunachal Pradesh
      • Assam
      • Bihar
      • Chandigarh
      • Chattisgarh
      • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
      • Daman and Diu
      • Delhi
      • Goa
      • Gujarat
      • Haryana
      • Himachal Pradesh
      • Jammu & Kashmir
      • Jharkhand
      • Karnataka
      • Kerala
      • Ladakh
      • Lakshadweep
      • Madhya Pradesh
      • Maharashtra
      • Manipur
      • Meghalaya
      • Mizoram
      • Nagaland
      • Odisha
      • Puducherry
      • Punjab
      • Rajasthan
      • Sikkim
      • Tamil Nadu
      • Telangana
      • Tripura
      • Uttar Pradesh
      • Uttrakhand
      • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
      • Ayush Education News
      • Dentistry Education News
      • Medical Admission News
      • Medical Colleges News
      • Medical Courses News
      • Medical Universities News
      • Nursing education News
      • Paramedical Education News
      • Study Abroad
  • Industry
      • Health Investment News
      • Health Startup News
      • Medical Devices News
      • Pharma News
      • Pharmacy Education News
      • Industry Perspective
  • MDTV
      • Health Dialogues MDTV
      • Health News today MDTV
      • Latest Videos MDTV
      • Latest Webinars MDTV
      • MD shorts MDTV
      • Medical News Today MDTV
      • Medico Legal Update MDTV
      • Top Videos MDTV
      • Health Perspectives MDTV
      • Journal Club MDTV
      • Medical Dialogues Show
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
LoginRegister
Medical Dialogues
LoginRegister
  • Home
  • Medical news & Guidelines
    • Anesthesiology
    • Cardiology and CTVS
    • Critical Care
    • Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diabetes and Endocrinology
    • ENT
    • Gastroenterology
    • Medicine
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstretics-Gynaecology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopaedics
    • Pediatrics-Neonatology
    • Psychiatry
    • Pulmonology
    • Radiology
    • Surgery
    • Urology
    • Laboratory Medicine
    • Diet
    • Nursing
    • Paramedical
    • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
    • Doctor News
    • Government Policies
    • Hospital & Diagnostics
    • International Health News
    • Medical Organization News
    • Medico Legal News
    • NBE News
    • NMC News
  • Fact Check
    • Bone Health Fact Check
    • Brain Health Fact Check
    • Cancer Related Fact Check
    • Child Care Fact Check
    • Dental and oral health fact check
    • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
    • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
    • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
    • Fitness fact check
    • Gut health fact check
    • Heart health fact check
    • Kidney health fact check
    • Medical education fact check
    • Men's health fact check
    • Respiratory fact check
    • Skin and hair care fact check
    • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
    • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
      • Ayurveda Giuidelines
      • Ayurveda News
    • Homeopathy
      • Homeopathy Guidelines
      • Homeopathy News
    • Siddha
      • Siddha Guidelines
      • Siddha News
    • Unani
      • Unani Guidelines
      • Unani News
    • Yoga
      • Yoga Guidelines
      • Yoga News
  • State News
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Andhra Pradesh
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chandigarh
    • Chattisgarh
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
    • Daman and Diu
    • Delhi
    • Goa
    • Gujarat
    • Haryana
    • Himachal Pradesh
    • Jammu & Kashmir
    • Jharkhand
    • Karnataka
    • Kerala
    • Ladakh
    • Lakshadweep
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Maharashtra
    • Manipur
    • Meghalaya
    • Mizoram
    • Nagaland
    • Odisha
    • Puducherry
    • Punjab
    • Rajasthan
    • Sikkim
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Telangana
    • Tripura
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Uttrakhand
    • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
    • Ayush Education News
    • Dentistry Education News
    • Medical Admission News
    • Medical Colleges News
    • Medical Courses News
    • Medical Universities News
    • Nursing education News
    • Paramedical Education News
    • Study Abroad
  • Industry
    • Health Investment News
    • Health Startup News
    • Medical Devices News
    • Pharma News
      • CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) News
    • Pharmacy Education News
    • Industry Perspective
  • Home
  • Psychiatry
  • Psychiatry News
  • Study: Loneliness...

Study: Loneliness doesn't raise mortality risk

Dr. Kamal Kant KohliWritten by Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2025-06-30T06:00:19+05:30  |  Updated On 30 Jun 2025 2:49 PM IST
Study: Loneliness doesnt raise mortality risk
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Email

Various reports have linked loneliness to premature death, with some-including the U.S. Surgeon General-suggesting that loneliness is as harmful to one’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

However, a new international study led by researchers at the University of Waterloo’s School of Public Health Sciences has found that while loneliness is common among older adults receiving home care, it is not associated with an increased risk of death.

The researchers analyzed data from more than 380,000 home care recipients aged 65 and older in Canada, Finland and New Zealand. Using standardized assessments and survival analysis, they found that lonely individuals had a lower risk of dying within one year compared to their non-lonely counterparts after adjusting for health conditions, age and other risk factors.

“Our findings suggest that loneliness may not independently increase the risk of death after controlling for other health risk factors among older adults in home care,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Bonaventure Egbujie, a professor in Waterloo’s School of Public Health Sciences. “This contradicts much of the existing literature based on the general population.”

Loneliness prevalence-defined as the number of people per 100 who report feeling lonely-ranged from 15.9 per cent of home care recipients in Canada to 24.4 per cent in New Zealand. Interestingly, people in better physical shape and who got less help from family or friends were likelier to feel lonely, suggesting a complex link between health status, caregiving needs, and social connection.

The study urges policymakers and health-care providers to treat loneliness as a quality-of-life issue rather than focusing solely on its potential link to mortality.

“Loneliness is a serious threat to psychological well-being. The mental health consequences of loneliness make it an important priority for public health, even if loneliness doesn’t kill you,” said the study’s senior author, Dr. John Hirdes, a professor in Waterloo’s School of Public Health Science.

“Home and community care services must play a protective role by supporting social contact for isolated people.”

The authors call for longer-term studies to better understand the causal relationship between loneliness and health outcomes and to explore how cultural and care system differences influence these dynamics.

Reference:

Bonaventure A. Egbujie, Gustavo Betini, Sandra Ochwat, Reem T. Mulla, Jokke Häsä, Johanna Edgren, Mari Aaltonen, Irihapeti Bullmore, Gary Cheung, Hamish A. Jamieson, Philip Schluter, John P. Hirdes, Cross-National Evidence on Risk of Death Associated with Loneliness: A Survival Analysis of 1-Year All-Cause Mortality among Older Adult Home Care Recipients in Canada, Finland, and Aotearoa | New Zealand, Journal of the American Medical Directors Association, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jamda.2025.105687.

Journal of the American Medical Directors Associationlonelinesspremature deathsmoking
Source : Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Show Full Article
Next Story

Editorial

Featured image representing thinking

Is Pharma Marketing Going Through "Thinking Recession"?

Beyond BMI: Why Pioglitazone Deserves a Place in Managing Thin-Fat Type 2 Diabetes in India

Beyond BMI: Why Pioglitazone Deserves a Place in Managing 'Thin-Fat' Type 2 Diabetes in India

How to Improve Adherence in Hypertensive Patients? Bridging the Gap with CONNECT Tool

How to Improve Adherence in Hypertensive Patients? Bridging the Gap with CONNECT Tool

Vestibular Migraine: Clinical Update and Role of Buccal Prochlorperazine

Vestibular Migraine: Clinical Update and Role of Buccal Prochlorperazine

U.S. FDA Drug Safety Alert: Warning Issued for Severe Itching After Stopping Long-Term Cetirizine or Levocetirizine Use

U.S. FDA Drug Safety Alert: Warning Issued for Severe Itching After Stopping Long-Term Cetirizine or...

View All

Journal Club Today

Study Unveils How Caffeine May Help Slow Ageing at the Cellular Level

Study Unveils How Caffeine May Help Slow Ageing at the Cellular Level

View All

Health News Today

Health Bulletin 30/June/ 2025

Health Bulletin 30/June/ 2025

View All
© 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Powered By: Hocalwire
X
We use cookies for analytics, advertising and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by continuing to use our site. To know more, see our Cookie Policy and Cookie Settings.Ok