As humans, we are born to connect. We have known for decades about the detrimental effects that forced isolation and loneliness can have on people. Early research by John Bowlby on children separated from parents during the Blitz on England showed us that children need secure and safe relationships within which to flourish. We’ve become increasingly aware that the need to engage with important others in our lives is not unique to children, but is a necessary component of a full, enriching life.
“Although she did not die directly as a result of the coronavirus, she was absolutely a casualty of the pandemic. The forced isolation and extreme loneliness resulting from the restrictions on visitors at her assisted living facility took her will to live.”
—Obituary, July 12, 2020, Pioneer Press
The effects of a lack of social connections have been slow to garner the attention of the public, even though the research has been emerging for decades. A couple of factors have emerged recently which have brought greater attention to the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness. One is the 2020 publication of the consensus study report of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, “Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults.” The pre-pandemic report details the body of findings that show the impact of social isolation on health. A sample of the reported findings are sobering:
- One-quarter of Americans 65 and older are socially isolated
- Social isolation significantly increases a person’s risk of mortality from all causes, a risk that may rival the risks of smoking, obesity and a lack of physical activity
- Social isolation has been associated with a 29 percent increased all-cause risk for mortality and a 25 percent increased risk for cancer mortality
- Social isolation has been associated with an approximately 50 percent increased risk of developing dementia (p. 18)
The issue has become so concerning that in England then Prime Minister, Teresa May, established a Minister of Loneliness to develop policies and practices to reduce social isolation and loneliness. Former Surgeon General of the United States, Vivek Murthy, has deemed the growing crisis an “epidemic of loneliness” and recognizes in his book, Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World, that it is both a social concern and a health issue to be addressed.
Of course, the second factor which has brought the problems of social isolation and loneliness to the forefront of concerns are the impact of practices to protect our most vulnerable population during the current pandemic. While we must do everything in our power to protect older adults from the COVID-19, we must also do what we can to ensure that they remain socially connected. This is evidenced in one particularly telling research study by Holt-Lunstad: “Being socially connected in a variety of ways is associated with having a 50 percent greater likelihood of survival (of all-causes of death), with some indicators of social integration being associated with a 91 percent greater likelihood of survival.”
Raising awareness about the dangers of social isolation is a first and necessary step in addressing this growing health concern. Those of us working in the field of aging, either in a social services setting or a health care setting, are called upon to mitigate the risks associated with loneliness and isolation for people as they age.