2018
Loneliness is an emerging public health threat
Everyone feels isolated sometimes, but with one in five Americans chronically lonely, has loneliness reached epidemic proportions? In 1988, the journal Science published a landmark study suggesting isolation was as strong a risk factor for morbidity and mortality as sedentary lifestyle, high blood pressure and smoking or obesity. Since then, loneliness has become an increasing public health concern and health officials are now taking the idea of an epidemic seriously. As the population ages, the burden of social isolation on public health will only increase.
Faculty Referenced by this Article
Related Content
May 30, 2024
CDPH Director Dr. Tomás J. Aragón to deliver 2024 commencement ceremony address for the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health
Read Full Article
April 30, 2024
Access to firearms for Californians aged 15–24 associated with increased suicide risk
Source:
UCLA Center for Health Policy Research
Read Full Article