Loneliness is a surprising epidemic that affects millions of people. Studies have shown that about 1 in 5 report feelings of loneliness. It’s something that affects people of every race, age, and gender, although senior citizens seem to have it the worst.

Social contacts tend to decrease as we age for a variety of reasons, including retirement, the death of friends and family, or lack of mobility. Regardless of the causes of senior isolation, the consequences can be alarming and even harmful. Even perceived social isolation, just the feeling of being lonely, is a struggle for many older people. Fortunately, the past couple of decades have seen increasing research into the risks, causes, and prevention of loneliness in seniors.

Some of the risks are linked to poor mental performance and quicker cognitive decline, increased mortality rates, higher risk of elder abuse, a major risk factor for depression, decreased immunity from disease and increase of poor habits which carry their own risks, such as poor eating, lack of exercise, decreased trust of healthcare providers, etc.  If you are wondering about how high is the risk of isolation, some researchers have found it to be more deadly than obesity.  To be specific, lonely people have a 50% greater mortality rate than non-lonely people whereas obese people have an 18% greater mortality rate than the non-obese.

There is no doubt that isolation in seniors can be mentally debilitating, especially once their support systems begin to shrink and it seems that there is no end in sight.  Given that, it is more critical than ever that we reach out to those seniors that do not have a seemingly strong support circle.