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The growing problem of loneliness
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“The perception that we are connected to others is a basic human need that is linked to mental and physical well-being (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018; Holt-Lunstad et al., 2010, 2015; Lyubomirsky et al., 2005).”
From Enhancing social connectedness in anxiety and depression through amplification of positivity: Preliminary treatment outcomes and process of change (2020) · cites this paper as Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018
In the citing paper
“Companionship provides emotional validation and shared meaning, buffering individuals against stress (Cohen & Wills, 1985;Thoits, 2011), and is crucial for those at risk of isolation (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018;Loades et al., 2020).”
From Artificial intelligence and unconditional love: the rise of generative AI as an alternative form of mental health support (2026) · cites this paper as Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018
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Cites
A Short Scale for Measuring Loneliness in Large Surveys: Results From Two Population-Based Studies
Hughes, M. E., Waite, L. J., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2004) · Research on Aging · doi:10.1177/0164027504268574 · Cited by 4,781
Self-citationA Meta-Analysis of Interventions to Reduce Loneliness
Masi, C. M., Chen, H.-Y., Hawkley, L. C., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2011) · Personality and Social Psychology Review · doi:10.1177/1088868310377394 · Cited by 1,995
Self-citationThe neuroendocrinology of social isolation
Cacioppo, J. T., Cacioppo, S., Capitanio, J. P., & Cole, S. W. (2015) · Annual Review of Psychology · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-010814-015240 · Cited by 977
Self-citationToward a neurology of loneliness
Cacioppo, S., Capitanio, J. P., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2014) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0037618 · Cited by 623
Self-citationCole, S. W., Capitanio, J. P., Chun, K., Arevalo, J. M. G., Ma, J., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2015) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1514249112 · Cited by 310
Self-citationHolt‐Lunstad, J., & Smith, T. B. (2016) · Heart · doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2015-309242 · Cited by 282
Why Loneliness Is Hazardous to Your Health
Miller, G. L. (2011) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.331.6014.138 · Cited by 128
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Collet, J.-P., Thiele, H., Barbato, E., Barthélémy, O., Bauersachs, J., Bhatt, D. L., Dendale, P., Dorobantu, M., Edvardsen, T., Folliguet, T., et al. (2021) · European Heart Journal · doi:10.1093/eurheartj/ehaa575 · Cited by 5,037
The trajectory of loneliness in response to COVID-19
Luchetti, M., Lee, J. H., Aschwanden, D., Sesker, A., Strickhouser, J. E., Terracciano, A., & Sutin, A. R. (2020) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/amp0000690 · Cited by 903
“…2020; Miller, 2020).1 Even before the coronavirus crisis, loneliness was a public health issue because it is widespread and associated with increased risk of morbidity and mortality (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018; Holt-Lunstad, 2017; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, & Medicine, 2020).”
BackgroundThe prevalence of loneliness across 113 countries: systematic review and meta-analysis
Surkalim, D. L., Luo, M., Eres, R., Gebel, K., van Buskirk, J., Bauman, A., & Ding, D. (2022) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-067068 · Cited by 821
The Effect of Loneliness on Distinct Health Outcomes: A Comprehensive Review and Meta-Analysis
Park, C., Majeed, A., Gill, H., Tamura, J., Ho, R. C., Mansur, R. B., Nasri, F., Lee, Y., Rosenblat, J. D., Wong, E., et al. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113514 · Cited by 604
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“These issues may have a strong impact on perceived loneliness, a factor widely associated with psychological distress as well as an outcome in itself (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018).”
BackgroundUser Experiences of Social Support From Companion Chatbots in Everyday Contexts: Thematic Analysis
Ta, V., Griffith, C., Boatfield, C., Wang, X., Civitello, M., Bader, H., DeCero, E., & Loggarakis, A. (2020) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/16235 · Cited by 561
“This is important because loneliness is currently a widespread global health issue [35] and can have serious negative effects on health [36-39].”
BackgroundViertiö, S., Kiviruusu, O. H., Piirtola, M., Kaprio, J. A., Korhonen, T., MARTTUNEN, M. J., & Suvisaari, J. (2021) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-021-10560-y · Cited by 528
The effects of social isolation stress and discrimination on mental health
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“Social isolation and loneliness appear to be widespread and growing phenomena with about a third of the population in industrialized countries being affected by perceived social isolation [71], albeit prevalence rates vary due to psychosocial and cultural differences between populations [73].”
BackgroundLoneliness, Mental Health, and Substance Use among US Young Adults during COVID-19
Horigian, V. E., Schmidt, R. D., & Feaster, D. J. (2020) · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs · doi:10.1080/02791072.2020.1836435 · Cited by 427
“This domestic public health crisis is heightened by the collision of the COVID-19 pandemic with the addiction (Volkow 2020) and loneliness (Cacioppo and Cacioppo 2018; Murthy 2017) epidemics that have affected the US for the past years.”
BackgroundTelehealth in response to the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for rural health disparities
Hirko, K. A., Kerver, J. M., Ford, S., Szafranski, C., Beckett, J., Kitchen, C., & Wendling, A. L. (2020) · Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association · doi:10.1093/jamia/ocaa156 · Cited by 390
Kasar, K. S., & Karaman, E. (2021) · Geriatric Nursing · doi:10.1016/j.gerinurse.2021.03.010 · Cited by 368
Loneliness and risk of dementia
Sutin, A. R., Stephan, Y., Luchetti, M., & Terracciano, A. (2020) · The Journals of Gerontology: Series B · doi:10.1093/geronb/gby112 · Cited by 331
“Loneliness has recently been identified as a significant public health problem (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018), but one that can be addressed with financial and institutional support.”
BackgroundSu, Y., Rao, W., Li, M., Caron, G., D’Arcy, C., & Meng, X. (2022) · International Psychogeriatrics · doi:10.1017/s1041610222000199 · Cited by 283
“Lonely individuals in comparison to others have been found to have increased all-cause morbidity and mortality (Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2018), increased risk of cardiovascular diseases (Barth et al., 2010; Thurston and Kubzansky, 2009), impaired functional status and quality of life (Lee et al.,…”
BackgroundInfluentialThe Neurobiology of Social Distance
Bzdok, D., & Dunbar, R. I. M. (2020) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2020.05.016 · Cited by 258
“In 2019, the World Health Organization declared that loneliness is a major health concern worldwide [4].”
Social isolation: an underappreciated determinant of physical health
Holt-Lunstad, J., & Steptoe, A. (2022) · Current Opinion in Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.copsyc.2021.07.012 · Cited by 216
The relationships between social support and loneliness: a meta-analysis and review
Zhang, X., & Dong, S. (2022) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103616 · Cited by 222
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Loneliness among people with substance use problems: A narrative systematic review
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The burden of loneliness: Implications of the social determinants of health during COVID-19
McQuaid, R. J., Cox, S. M. L., Ogunlana, A., & Jaworska, N. (2020) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113648 · Cited by 216
“Taken together, loneliness has been a significant and growing concern for a number of years (Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2018); however, it is now being more widely recognized as a critical public health issue with the arrival and continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic (Killgore et al., 2020).”
BackgroundLoneliness across time and space
Luhmann, M., Buecker, S., & Rüsberg, M. (2022) · Nature Reviews Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44159-022-00124-1 · Cited by 197
From Text to Thought: How Analyzing Language Can Advance Psychological Science
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“…concepts are transmitted more reliably than low-arousal concepts, and social concepts are transmitted more reliably than asocial concepts (Mesoudi & Whiten, 2008), illustrating the salience of high-arousal feelings (Kensinger, 2004) and sociality (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018) to human experience.”
Watts, R., Kettner, H., Geerts, D., Gandy, S., Kärtner, L., Mertens, L. J., Timmermann, C., Nour, M. M., Kaelen, M., Nutt, D., et al. (2022) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-022-06187-5 · Cited by 180
“Many have argued that a sense of felt connection to self, other people and the world around us has a profound effect on our individual and collective wellbeing (Alexander 2008; Cacioppo and Cacioppo 2018; Hari 2019; Sorajjakool et al. 2008).”
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“Veteran status Veteran 2088 (10) 2320 (12) Nonveteran 18 008 (90) 17 776 (88) Education High school 4123 (21) 3692 (19) Some college 5018 (26) 4749 (24) College degree 7529 (38) 7699 (39) Graduate degree 2911 (15) 3448 (18) Employment status Employed 11 104 (57) 12 134 (63) Unemployed 2422 (13) 2100 (11) Homemaker 169…”
Emotional and social loneliness and their unique links with social isolation, depression and anxiety
Wolters, N. E., Mobach, L., Wuthrich, V. M., Vonk, P., der Heijde, C. M. V., Wiers, R. W. H. J., Rapee, R. M., & Klein, A. M. (2023) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2023.02.096 · Cited by 197
“In separate samples, social isolation has been associated with lone-liness (Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2018b), depression (Cacioppo et al., 2006b), general anxiety (Santini et al., 2020), and social anxiety (Lim et al., 2016), however, no studies have examined these factors comprehensively in the same…”
Risk factors for loneliness: The high relative importance of age versus other factors
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“For example, low levels of social engagement [42, 113], poor mental health [110] and physical health [35] have been connected to loneliness.”
BackgroundA multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic
Wang, K., Goldenberg, A., Dorison, C. A., Miller, J. K., Uusberg, A., Lerner, J. S., Gross, J. J., Agesin, B. E., Bernardo, M., Campos, O., et al. (2021) · Nature Human Behaviour · doi:10.1038/s41562-021-01173-x · Cited by 181
“…use on other outcomes, including, but not limited to: (1) positive and negative anticipated emotions; (2) intentions to enact potentially harmful versus beneficial behaviours (results in Supplementary Table 14); and (3) loneliness and social connectedness (results in Supplementary Table 15).”
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What is good grief support? Exploring the actors and actions in social support after traumatic grief
Cacciatore, J., Thieleman, K., Fretts, R. C., & Jackson, L. B. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0252324 · Cited by 195
“[6–8], is linked to an increased premature mortality risk [9, 10] and correlates to adverse health outcomes such as depression, psychosocial maladjustment, poor coping behavior, low health promotion behavior, compromised well-being, reduced quality of life, and self-actualization [11].”
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The Transition from Childhood to Adolescence: Between Health and Vulnerability
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“On the contrary, social disconnection or poor social relationships, such as isolation and loneliness, enhance vulnerability to health negative outcomes which are added to other adverse events in the course of life [61].”
BackgroundFrailty Combined with Loneliness or Social Isolation: An Elevated Risk for Mortality in Later Life
Hoogendijk, E. O., Smit, A. P., van Dam, C. S., Schuster, N. A., de Breij, S., Holwerda, T. J., Huisman, M. A., Dent, E., & Andrew, M. K. (2020) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/jgs.16716 · Cited by 152
Loneliness and emotion regulation
Preece, D. A., Goldenberg, A., Becerra, R., Boyes, M. E., Hasking, P. A., & Gross, J. J. (2021) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.110974 · Cited by 154
Third-party evaluators perceive AI as more compassionate than expert humans
Ovsyannikova, D., de Mello, V. O., & Inzlicht, M. (2025) · Communications Psychology · doi:10.1038/s44271-024-00182-6 · Cited by 159
“The gap between empathic supply and demand leaves recipients with unful fi lled needs for supportive care and contributes to heightened reports of social isolation, loneliness, and mental health concerns 18,35,36 , which have intensi fi ed since the COVID-19 pandemic, particularlyamong youth 35 .”
Big smile, small self: Awe walks promote prosocial positive emotions in older adults.
Sturm, V. E., Datta, S., Roy, A. R. K., Sible, I. J., Kosik, E. L., Veziris, C. R., Chow, T. E., Morris, N., Neuhaus, J. M., Kramer, J. H., et al. (2020) · Emotion · doi:10.1037/emo0000876 · Cited by 148
“…for older adults and are associated with higher rates of social isolation, depression, cognitive impairment, cardiovascular disease, and mortality (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018; Cacioppo & Hawkley, 2009; Golden et al., 2009; Kassem et al., 2017; Kubzansky & X Virginia E. Sturm, Department of…”
BackgroundLuchetti, M., Terracciano, A., Aschwanden, D., Lee, J. H., Stéphan, Y., & Sutin, A. R. (2020) · International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry · doi:10.1002/gps.5304 · Cited by 133
“Loneliness is a significant public health concern in our aging society.(1)”
BackgroundSimpson, S., Simionato, G., Smout, M., van Vreeswijk, M., Hayes, C., Sougleris, C., & Reid, C. L. (2018) · Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy · doi:10.1002/cpp.2328 · Cited by 154
“…EE, resulting in a growing problem of loneliness, which has increasingly been linked to a range of serious physical and emotional health problems (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018; Cacioppo, Cacioppo, Capitanio, & Cole, 2015; Holt‐Lunstad & Smith, 2016; Layden et al., 2017; Miller, 2011; Murthy, 2017).”
BackgroundLoneliness and mental health: The mediating effect of perceived social support
Hutten, E., Jongen, E. M. M., Vos, A. E. C. C., van den Hout, A. J. H. C., & van Lankveld, J. J. D. M. (2021) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph182211963 · Cited by 117
Lapane, K. L., Lim, E., McPhillips, E., Barooah, A., Yuan, Y., & Dube, C. E. (2022) · Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics · doi:10.1016/j.archger.2022.104728 · Cited by 143
“(Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018) The extent to which findings in community-dwelling older adults hold for those living in congregate long term care settings is unclear.”
BackgroundChronic social isolation signals starvation and reduces sleep in Drosophila
Li, W., Wang, Z., Syed, S., Lyu, C., Lincoln, S., O'Neil, J. L., Nguyen, A. D., Feng, I., & Young, M. W. (2021) · Nature · doi:10.1038/s41586-021-03837-0 · Cited by 117
Freak‐Poli, R., Ryan, J. L., Tran, T. D., Owen, A. J., Power, J. M., Berk, M., Stocks, N. P., González‐Chica, D. A., Lowthian, J. A., Fisher, J., et al. (2021) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2021.1940097 · Cited by 129
“It has been noted that ‘quick and valid measures of loneliness exist’ and diagnosis of loneliness is not difficult, and also that remedies to loneliness are also readily available (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018).”
BackgroundFoster, A., Thompson, J., Holding, E., Ariss, S., Mukuria, C., Jacques, R., Akparido, R., & Haywood, A. (2020) · Health & Social Care in the Community · doi:10.1111/hsc.13200 · Cited by 118
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Longitudinal associations between family identification, loneliness, depression, and sleep quality
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“In their Evolutionary Theory of Loneliness (ETL) Cacioppo and Caciopppo (2018b) propose that loneliness leads to poor sleep quality and insomnia (as well as other outcomes) because it signals that one exists in an environment where others are likely to behave selfishly.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialBody-Esteem, Self-Esteem and Loneliness among Social Media Young Users
Pop, L., Iorga, M., & Iurcov, R. O. C. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19095064 · Cited by 142
“Loneliness is defined as a unique condition in which an individual perceives himself or herself to be socially isolated even when among other people [5].”
BackgroundSalgado, T. A., Monteiro, G. M. C., Marcon, G., Roza, T. H., Zimerman, A., Hoffmann, M. S., Cao, B., Hauck, S., Brunoni, A. R., & Passos, I. C. (2021) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2021.04.044 · Cited by 103
“The former is outwardly visible to an onlooker, inferred by the lack of social proximity and engagement with others, even though the individuals themselves may not feel alone (Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2018; McClelland et al., 2020).”
BackgroundDie COVID-19-Pandemie als Herausforderung für die psychische Gesundheit
Brakemeier, E., Wirkner, J., Knaevelsrud, C., Wurm, S., Christiansen, H., Lueken, U., & Schneider, S. (2020) · Zeitschrift für Klinische Psychologie und Psychotherapie · doi:10.1026/1616-3443/a000574 · Cited by 109
A global test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemicPreprint
Wang, K., Goldenberg, A., Dorison, C. A., Miller, J. K., Uusberg, A., Lerner, J. S., Gross, J. J., Marcu, G. M., Рафиковна, А. Е., Adamkovic, M., et al. (2020) · PsyArXiv (OSF Preprints) · doi:10.31234/osf.io/m4gpq · Cited by 100
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Connectome-based individualized prediction of loneliness
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“Loneliness is a negative emotional state induced by subjective perception of social isolation even when among other people (Weiss, 1973; Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2018).”
BackgroundInfluentialRevisiting the social stigma of loneliness
Kerr, N. A., & Stanley, T. B. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.110482 · Cited by 95
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Predictors and consequences of loneliness during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Rumas, R., Shamblaw, A. L., Jagtap, S., & Best, M. W. (2021) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2021.113934 · Cited by 90
“Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, loneliness levels were cited to be at epidemic levels (Neill-Hall, 2013; Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2018), with over half of Americans reporting feelings of loneliness and social isolation (Cigna et al., 2020).”
BackgroundLoneliness, ageism, and mental health: The buffering role of resilience in seniors
Ribeiro-Gonçalves, J. A., Costa, P. A., & Leal, I. M. P. (2022) · International Journal of Clinical and Health Psychology · doi:10.1016/j.ijchp.2022.100339 · Cited by 92
“…to factors such as the lack of post-retirement and post-widow’s social resources, changes in family configurations and family support, and changes in socialization resulting from digitalization (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018; Chawla et al., Table 3 Direct and mediated effects on psychological distress.”
BackgroundResultEconomic Gradients in Social Health in Britain
Kung, C. S. J., Pudney, S. E., & Shields, M. A. (2021) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115122 · Cited by 90
“Loneliness is highly prevalent across the life course, and is predicted to increase with demographic changes: ageing populations, more people living alone, and with chronic health conditions (Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2018a).”
Taylor, C. T., Pearlstein, S. L., Kakaria, S., Lyubomirsky, S., & Stein, M. B. (2020) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-020-10102-7 · Cited by 81
“Social disconnection and loneliness increase risk for early mortality to a degree comparable with well-established health risk factors such as obesity and smoking (Cacioppo and Cacioppo 2018; Holt-Lunstad et al.”
BackgroundInfluentialAn integrative health framework for wellbeing in the built environment
Engineer, A., Gualano, R. J., Crocker, R. L., Smith, J. L., Maizes, V., Weil, A., & STERNBERG, E. M. (2021) · Building and Environment · doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.108253 · Cited by 95
Social reward and support effects on exercise experiences and performance: Evidence from parkrun
Davis, A., MacCarron, P., & Cohen, E. E. A. (2021) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0256546 · Cited by 101
“Although evidence on the prevalence of loneliness is less well established, loneliness as the perception of social isolation (even when among other people), is also widely recognized as a “real mental health challenge for the nations” [6] and a growing problem worldwide [7, 8].”
BackgroundHsueh, Y.-C., Chen, C., Hsiao, Y., & Lin, C.-C. (2019) · Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect · doi:10.1080/08946566.2019.1660936 · Cited by 78
“loneliness and depression are frequently regarded as just symptoms of chronic physical diseases rather than the mental health problems per se among seniors (Bruce & Sirey, 2018; Cacioppo, 2018).”
BackgroundFreak-Poli, R., Wagemaker, N., Wang, R., Lysen, T. S., Ikram, M. A., Vernooij, M. W., Dintica, C. S., Vernooij-Dassen, M., Melis, R. J. F., Laukka, E. J., et al. (2022) · Journal of Alzheimer's Disease · doi:10.3233/jad-210330 · Cited by 79
“Our findings highlight the importance of developing successful preventive measures for loneliness per se, which has been claimed as a 21st century epidemic [62, 63].”
BackgroundImproving the quality of life of people with advanced respiratory disease and severe breathlessness
Booth, S., & Johnson, M. J. (2019) · Breathe · doi:10.1183/20734735.0200-2019 · Cited by 79
Loneliness in psychosis: A practical review and critique for clinicians.
Badcock, J. C., Adery, L. H., & Park, S. (2020) · Clinical Psychology Science and Practice · doi:10.1111/cpsp.12345 · Cited by 86
Wilkialis, L., Rodrigues, N. B., Cha, D. S., Siegel, A. N., Majeed, A., Lui, L. M. W., Tamura, J. K., Gill, B., Teopiz, K. M., & McIntyre, R. S. (2021) · Brain Sciences · doi:10.3390/brainsci11121620 · Cited by 77
“- Anxiety [4,47,58,59] - Increased use of healthcare services [49,60–62]”
BackgroundScreening for loneliness in representative population samples: Validation of a single-item measure
Reinwarth, A. C., Ernst, M., Krakau, L., Brähler, E., & Beutel, M. E. (2023) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0279701 · Cited by 78
Significantly increased risk of all-cause mortality among cardiac patients feeling lonely
Christensen, A. V., Juel, K., Ekholm, O., Thrysøe, L., Thorup, C. B., Borregaard, B., Mols, R. E., Rasmussen, T. B., & Berg, S. K. (2019) · Heart · doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2019-315460 · Cited by 77
Han, Z., Wang, Z., & Li, Y. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.664612 · Cited by 81
“…is a solid need to re-investigate Frontiers in Psychology | www.frontiersin.org 2 June 2021 | Volume 12 | Article 664612 the loneliness of children and adolescents, especially in the context of lockdown due to the pandemic (Weeks and Asher, 2012; Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2018; Loades et al., 2020).”
BackgroundRodrigues, B. K. A. B., David, C., Costa, J. N., Ferreira, J. J., Pinto, F. J., & Caldeira, D. (2019) · Heart · doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2019-315193 · Cited by 71
Friendship jealousy: One tool for maintaining friendships in the face of third-party threats?
Krems, J. A., Williams, K. E. G., Aktipis, A., & Kenrick, D. T. (2020) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037/pspi0000311 · Cited by 78
Sex, love and oxytocin: Two metaphors and a molecule
Carter, C. S. (2022) · Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104948 · Cited by 70
Liebmann, M., Pitman, A., Hsueh, Y.-C., Bertotti, M., & Pearce, E. (2022) · BMC Health Services Research · doi:10.1186/s12913-022-08656-1 · Cited by 68
“Loneliness is a global public health issue [1] and, in the UK, it has attracted considerable policy attention with the introduction of a governmental loneliness strategy in 2018 [8].”
BackgroundAbelsen, S. N., Vatne, S.-H., Mikalef, P., & Choudrie, J. (2021) · Information Technology and People · doi:10.1108/itp-12-2020-0870 · Cited by 81
ElliQ, an AI-Driven Social Robot to Alleviate Loneliness: Progress and Lessons Learned
Broadbent, E., Loveys, K., Ilan, G., Chen, G., Chilukuri, M. M., Boardman, S. G., Doraiswamy, P. M., & Skuler, D. (2024) · Journal of Aging Research and Lifestyle · doi:10.14283/jarlife.2024.2 · Cited by 73
“It is a feeling of social isolation even when one is surrounded by other people (6).”
BackgroundLoneliness as a risk factor for frailty transition among older Chinese people
Sha, S., Xu, Y., & Chen, L. (2020) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-020-01714-5 · Cited by 68
Holding, E., Thompson, J., Foster, A., & Haywood, A. (2020) · Health & Social Care in the Community · doi:10.1111/hsc.12976 · Cited by 67
“Loneliness is increasingly recognised as a global public health concern associated with a range of negative health outcomes (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018; Holt-Lunstad, Smith, Baker, Harris, & Stephenson, 2015).”
BackgroundPhysical Contact and Loneliness: Being Touched Reduces Perceptions of Loneliness
Tejada, A. H., Dunbar, R., & Montero, M. (2020) · Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology · doi:10.1007/s40750-020-00138-0 · Cited by 80
“Loneliness is an increasing concern in individualistic and low-contact societies (Cacioppo and Cacioppo 2018; Griffin 2010; Murthy 2017)1 even though people are used to reduced physical contact and most of them strive to become independent and self-reliant.”
BackgroundFinley, A. J., & Schaefer, S. M. (2022) · Journal of Psychiatry and Brain Science · doi:10.20900/jpbs.20220011 · Cited by 79
Boucher, E. M., McNaughton, E. C., Harake, N., Stafford, J. L., & Parks, A. C. (2021) · JMIR Mental Health · doi:10.2196/26617 · Cited by 61
Arts engagement supports social connectedness in adulthood: findings from the HEartS Survey
Perkins, R., Mason-Bertrand, A., Tymoszuk, U., Spiro, N., Gee, K., & Williamon, A. (2021) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-021-11233-6 · Cited by 81
“Loneliness is a public health problem, associated with a 26% increase in the risk of premature mortality [4, 5] as well as poorer cardiovascular and mental health outcomes [6].”
BackgroundLaslo‐Roth, R., Bareket‐Bojmel, L., & Margalit, M. (2020) · European Journal of Special Needs Education · doi:10.1080/08856257.2020.1862339 · Cited by 72
“Recently, loneliness has come to be considered a public health problem associated with increased risk of mental health problems, morbidity, and mortality (Cacioppo and Cacioppo 2018; National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine 2020).”
BackgroundYang, M., Wei, W., Ren, L., Pu, Z., Zhang, Y., Li, Y., Li, X., & Wu, S. (2023) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-023-17435-4 · Cited by 71
“Consequently, it is regarded as a global public health concern [14, 15].”
BackgroundLoneliness and Facebook use: the role of social comparison and rumination
Dibb, B., & Foster, M. (2021) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2021.e05999 · Cited by 70
“This supports other studies showing this association [1, 4] and highlights the importance of controlling for depression in studies on loneliness.”
BackgroundResultInfluentialVolunteering and loneliness in older adults: A parallel mediation model
Lee, S. (2021) · Aging & Mental Health · doi:10.1080/13607863.2021.1913477 · Cited by 67
“Numerous studies provide evidence that loneliness and social isolation in later life plays a detrimental role in older adults’ health and quality of life (e.g. Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018; Cohen-Mansfield & Parpura-Gill, 2007; Holt-Lunstad, Robles, & Sbarra, 2017; Poscia et al., 2018).”
BackgroundLoneliness and health expectancy among older adults: A longitudinal population‐based study
Malhotra, R., Tareque, M. I., Saito, Y., Ma, S., Chiu, C., & Chan, A. W.-M. (2021) · Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · doi:10.1111/jgs.17343 · Cited by 68
Azhari, A., Toms, Z., Pavlopoulou, G., Esposito, G., & Dimitriou, D. (2022) · Acta Psychologica · doi:10.1016/j.actpsy.2022.103706 · Cited by 92
“…it is ironic that these digital platforms have also been argued to contribute to the loneliness epidemic plaguing the youths of today (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018; Caplan, 2007), with an estimated one-third of respondents of a large survey on adolescents and young adults from the United Kingdom…”
Torrente, F. M., Yoris, A., Low, D. M., López, P. L., Bekinschtein, P., Manes, F. F., & Cetkovich, M. (2020) · Journal of Affective Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.124 · Cited by 59
“Furthermore, we can assume that the group of older adults who completed the online survey is an active group connected to others through technology, which could operate in some cases as a protective factor for loneliness (Nowland, Necka & Cacioppo, 2018).”
InfluentialGe, M., Hu, F., Jia, Y., Tang, W. H., Zhang, W., Zhao, D., Shen, W., & Chen, H. (2023) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941231180119 · Cited by 58
“Loneliness is a common public health problem (Cacioppo & Cacioppo, 2018), which refers to a negative and subjective experience (Lim et al., 2020).”
Loveys, K., Fricchione, G., Kolappa, K., Sagar, M., & Broadbent, E. (2019) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/13664 · Cited by 54
“Loneliness is a widespread global health issue that approximately affects a third of people in industrialized countries [3].”
BackgroundByrne, K. A., Anaraky, R. G., Dye, C., Ross, L. A., Chalil Madathil, K., Knijnenburg, B., & Levkoff, S. (2021) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.723925 · Cited by 54
Stickley, A., & Ueda, M. (2021) · Psychiatry Research · doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2021.114318 · Cited by 61
“This is worrying given the growing recognition of the detrimental effect that loneliness can have on public health (Cacioppo and Cacioppo, 2018).”
Giné‐Garriga, M., Jerez‐Roig, J., Coll‐Planas, L., Skelton, D. A., Inzitari, M., Booth, J., & de Souza, D. L. B. (2020) · Maturitas · doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2020.11.010 · Cited by 62
“Loneliness is emerging as a public health issue [22], and is associated with a 26% increase in the risk of premature mortality [23].”
BackgroundHyland, K. A., Small, B. J., Gray, J. E., Chiappori, A., Creelan, B., Tanvetyanon, T., Nelson, A. M., Cessna, J. M., Jim, H., & Jacobsen, P. B. (2019) · Psycho-Oncology · doi:10.1002/pon.5072 · Cited by 54
“Loneliness is receiving increasing attention as a public health problem in the context of the current age shift in the population.(40) Given that the majority of cancers occur in older adults, continued study of loneliness and potentially modifiable factors related to loneliness in cancer patients is warranted.”
BackgroundChoukèr, A., & Stahn, A. C. (2020) · npj Microgravity · doi:10.1038/s41526-020-00122-8 · Cited by 52
Economic Aspects of Loneliness in Australia
Kung, C. S. J., Kunz, J., & Shields, M. A. (2021) · Australian Economic Review · doi:10.1111/1467-8462.12414 · Cited by 70
“It has been suggested that the prevalence of loneliness is increasing, driven by more people living alone, longer and with chronic health conditions (Cacioppo and Cacioppo 2018a).”
BackgroundProspective effects of loneliness on frequency of alcohol and marijuana use
Gutkind, S., Gorfinkel, L., & Hasin, D. S. (2021) · Addictive Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2021.107115 · Cited by 59
Sha, S., Pan, Y., Xu, Y., & Chen, L. (2022) · BMC Geriatrics · doi:10.1186/s12877-022-03044-0 · Cited by 52
Ascanio, J. H., de Torres, L. Á. P., Rich‐Ruiz, M., González‐Santos, J., Mielgo‐Ayuso, J., Gonzalez-Bernal, J. J., & ASyS Study Collaborative Group (2022) · Nursing Open · doi:10.1002/nop2.1277 · Cited by 51
Reconceptualising men's loneliness: An interpretivist interview study of UK-based men
Ratcliffe, J., Kanaan, M. N., & Galdas, P. (2023) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116129 · Cited by 47
Yin, R., Martinengo, L., Smith, H. E., Subramaniam, M., Griva, K., & Car, L. T. (2024) · The Lancet Healthy Longevity · doi:10.1016/j.lanhl.2024.08.007 · Cited by 44
Site, A., Lohan, E. S., Jolanki, O. H., Valkama, O., Hernández, R. R., Latikka, R., Alekseeva, D., Vasudevan, S., Afolaranmi, S. O., Ometov, A., et al. (2022) · Sensors · doi:10.3390/s22031108 · Cited by 50
“While not all older people are lonely, loneliness has been shown to have serious effects, such as the decline of well-being and functional ability and increased risk of morbidity and mortality [11,42,43].”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Cacioppo, J. T., & Cacioppo, S.
- Affiliations
- University of Chicago (US)
- Corresponding author
- Cacioppo, John T
- Venue
- The Lancet
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-02
- Volume
- 391
- Issue
- 10119
- Pages
- 426
- ISSN
- 0099-5355 (ISSN-L)
- 0140-6736
- PMC
- PMC6530780
- OpenAlex
- W2787145468
- Cited by
- 897
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 107 · 2025: 155 · 2024: 134 · 2023: 131 · 2022: 117 · 2021: 126 · 2020: 94 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 5
- FWCI
- 67.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- The Lancet (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute on Aging (R01AG033590)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Keywords
- loneliness, social isolation, premature mortality, depression, irritability, self-centeredness, social contagion, socioeconomic factors
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Loneliness, Public Health, Social Isolation
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