Full Professor in the Department of Personality, Assessment, and Clinical Psychology at the Complutense University of Madrid and expert in unwanted loneliness
One in five people in Spain suffers from unwanted loneliness, but what exactly is it? What consequences can it have and who suffers from it most? Is it appropriate and realistic to talk about an epidemic of loneliness? What are the causes and possible solutions? What role do social networks play? We answer these and other questions about a central problem in our societies.
The absence of visits from friends and family is associated with a higher mortality rate, according to an analysis of data from more than 450,000 people followed for more than a decade in the UK. The study, published in BMC Medicine, focussed on five indicators of loneliness, and concluded that having no visits from family or friends was associated with higher all-cause mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality. According to the authors, this kind of study helps to identify at-risk populations and measures of social connectedness that could provide the most benefit.