Social isolation should be considered a health risk.

Why is social isolation a health problem?

Human beings are social animals. We live with others, and we support each other; that’s what has given us an evolutionary advantage. So, what happens when a person doesn’t have others to be with when they are socially isolated? Older people are especially at risk of being socially isolated. By the time people reach their eighties, the majority live on their own, mostly because of widowhood. This is particularly the case for older women who are more likely to be widowed than older men. Older people’s social networks often get smaller for other reasons as well – children may have moved away, along with grandchildren, and ageing siblings and friends may have died.

For many decades, researchers have been interested in social isolation and what impacts it has on people’s health. One question that has been looked at is whether people who have more social relationships or more supportive relationships live longer than those with fewer or less supportive ones. In these studies, people are asked about their social relationships at one point in time; some years later, researchers follow up and determine who is still alive and who has died in the meantime. In one study researchers reviewed 148 studies that had previously looked at social relationships and mortality. Across the 148 studies, people with more or better social relationships lived longer.

The obvious answer to reducing social isolation would seem to be to get people connected to each other and many programs are available that try to do just that. For example, there are many clubs or senior centres that allow people to get together. We don’t know whether these programs reach those most at risk of being socially isolated. If people don’t come forward on their own it can be a challenge to identify those who are socially isolated and help them to become more socially engaged.

We believe that many older adults are socially isolated, but we have no way of knowing who these people are unless they come forward, and this should be of concern to all of us. We need to watch out for older people who live alone, who hardly ever go out of the house, who hardly ever get visitors. Making a phone call to or visiting a family member or checking on a neighbour doesn’t take much time, but could make a big difference in somebody’s life. Communication via the internet also makes it increasingly easy to stay in touch across geographic distances. And there are many organizations that provide opportunities for social engagement, such as senior centres. Service providers should be aware of these opportunities and refer their clients that may be socially isolated to them.