Almudena Hernando

From 2014 to 2023, one in six people in the world suffered from loneliness, according to a World Health Organisation report, which outlines the causes of this phenomenon and its multiple impacts: on physical and mental health and mortality, as well as on work and the economy. The report estimates that loneliness is linked to more than 871,000 deaths per year and highlights a higher incidence among young people and in low- and middle-income countries.

A study has analysed around 10,000 teeth from 139 archaeological sites in Europe dating from around 1200 AD in the Middle Ages. The differences between the teeth of men and women make it possible to establish who had better living conditions and received more attention in each place. Comparing the data with the contemporary situation, they conclude that greater gender discrimination in the past correlates with greater inequality today. According to the authors, this persistence is most likely due to intergenerational transmission, as it is interrupted when there is a large population replacement. The results are published in the journal PNAS.