Summary: Over one-third of Americans aged 50 to 80 continue to experience loneliness, and almost as many feel morally isolated, even as prices return to pre-pandemic degrees. Older individuals with bad physical or mental health, lower earnings, or those not working be disproportionately affected.
The findings highlight the significant effects of isolation and loneliness on health, highlighting the need for practitioners to monitor and connect those afflicted with community resources. Experts urge targeted treatments, especially for organizations with persistently higher rates, to combat these persistent challenges.
Important Facts:
- Prevalence: In 2024, 33 % of older adults reported loneliness, and 29 % reported isolation, comparable to pre-pandemic levels but still significant.
- Disparities: Those with poor mental health ( 75 % lonely, 77 % isolated ) or poor physical health ( 53 % lonely, 52 % isolated ) faced much higher rates than their healthier peers.
- Age Variations: People aged 50–64 reported higher loneliness and isolation levels than those aged 65–80, with younger older people never entirely returning to pre-pandemic rates.
Origin: University of Michigan
Loneliness and isolation among older Americans have largely returned to pre-pandemic costs, but that still means , more than one third of people age 50 to 80 experience lonely, and almost as many feel isolated, a new national study indicates.
And some older adults, particularly those who are dealing with serious physical or mental health issues, also experience significantly higher levels of isolation and loneliness than others.
The new observations, from a review of six years of data from the , National Poll on Healthy Aging, are published in , JAMA , by a team from the University of Michigan , Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.
The survey began in 2018 and most recently earlier this year asked older adults across the country how frequently they felt depressed about their lack of companionship ( the subjective feeling of being alone, or lonely ) and isolation from others ( the experience of social isolation ). The ballot is supported by AARP and Michigan Medicine, U-M’s academic medical center.
According to the most recent data, 33 % of older adults felt lonely at least once a year in 2024, roughly the same as it was in 2018 ( 34 % ). During the years in between, as many as 42 % of older adults had this level of loneliness.
Also, 29 % of older individuals said they felt isolated some of the day or usually in 2024, just above the level of 27 % seen in 2018. During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, 56 % of older adults said they had experienced this level of isolation, but the rate has declined each year since.
” At the surface, this might seem like great news, that we’re up to where we were before COVID-19 struck. But that foundation was no good, and it was particularly bad for some groups of older people, who continue to have very high levels of grief and social isolation”, said , Preeti Malani, M. D., MSJ,  , the study’s lead creator and a professor of internal medicine at the U-M Medical School.
” One of the biggest differences right now is that we are more aware of the effects of isolation and loneliness on our health, especially as we get older.” Malani serves as the poll’s senior advisor from 2017 to 2022.
In 2024, the groups of older adults with the highest rates of loneliness were:
- Those who said their mental health is fair or poor: 75 % ( in 2018, it was 74 % )
- Those who said their physical health is fair or poor: 53 % (up from 50 % in 2018 )
- Those who were not working or received disability income ( does not include retirees ): 52 % (up from 38 % in 2018 )
In 2024, the socially isolated groups had the highest rates:
- Those who said their mental health is fair or poor: 77 % (up slightly from 79 % in 2018 )
- Those who said their physical health is fair or poor: 52 % (up from 43 % in 2018 )
- Those who were not working or received disability income ( does not include retirees ): 50 % (up from 36 % in 2018 )
These rates for 2024 are twice, or even higher, than those observed in older people who reported excellent or excellent physical health, very good or good, or who worked or retired.
” These trends make it clear: clinicians should see loneliness and isolation as a key factor in their patients ‘ lives, especially those with serious physical or mental health conditions”, says poll director , Jeffrey Kullgren, M. D., M. P. H., M. S.,  , an associate professor of internal medicine at U-M and primary care clinician at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System.
” We should consider screening our patients for these issues and connecting them with resources in their communities, whether that’s a senior center, Veterans ‘ groups, volunteering opportunities, or services offered by an Area Agency on Aging or other community organizations”, he said.
Other key findings:
In general, adults age 50 to 64 were more likely than those age 65 to 80 to say they felt lonely or isolated across all poll years, and rates had not dropped back to pre-pandemic rates for those age 50 to 64 in 2024.
In contrast, those who make household incomes under$ 60, 000 and those who live alone were more likely than those with higher incomes or those living with others to report feeling isolated or lonely at times, a finding that was consistent over the course of most years. However, rates in 2024 for those who live alone were lower than for those who live with others.
About this news about social isolation and aging research
Author: Kara Gavin
Source: University of Michigan
Contact: Kara Gavin – University of Michigan
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News
Original Research: Closed access.
” Loneliness and Social Isolation Among US Older Adults, 2018-2024” by Preeti Malani et al. JAMA
Abstract
Loneliness and Social Isolation Among US Older Adults, 2018-2024
Loneliness and social isolation have been increasingly recognized as health risks, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
 , While loneliness is the subjective feeling of being alone, social isolation occurs when a person objectively lacks connections to family, friends, or a community.  ,
We characterized loneliness and social isolation using population-based samples of community-dwelling US older adults.
