1 in 6 adults feel lonely often or always

By Lauren Wilkin

A study of over 135,000 adults found that a huge number of adults feel lonely often — and many of them live in urban cities.

The research, conducted by Imperial College London, recruited a total of 135,725 volunteers aged 16 and older to complete an online survey over a five-month period in 2023.

The findings of the study — called INTERACT, shocked the researchers.

Almost one in six adults reported feeling lonely "often or always," and more than one in five people frequently felt a lack of companionship or had feelings of being left out or isolated.

When the researchers dug deeper into the data, they found that some of the loneliest people were clustered in urban environments and cities, including London, Birmingham and Manchester.

Austen El-Osta, study lead for INTERACT, said: "The key message is not simply that many people feel lonely, but that loneliness is strongly influenced by people's surroundings, social network, and their environment."

The study said that his reflected the "urban paradox" theory — where major cities which offer greater economic, cultural and social advantages often report lower life satisfaction, connectivity and happiness, compared to rural areas.

The team also found a significant lasting effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Nearly 44% of respondents said the pandemic increased their loneliness, while 48.2% reported increased feelings of isolation.

Azeem Majeed, senior author of the study, said: "As an NHS GP, I see how loneliness affects both the mental and physical health of my patients.

"It contributes to problems such as anxiety and depression, increases the risk of long-term conditions, and often leads to more frequent GP consultations.

"By strengthening community connections and social capital, we can help prevent loneliness and enable people to live healthier, happier and more connected lives."

It seems that whether people were in relationships or not didn't seem to effect loneliness levels, either.

The research found 45% of respondent were married or in a civil partnership and almost 20% were single.

El-Osta, said, "Loneliness is often treated as a private experience, but our findings reinforce that it is also a public health and community issue.

"INTERACT gives us one of the largest & most detailed descriptive datasets on loneliness & social connection in England, helping us understand not only who reports loneliness, but how it relates to neighborhood trust, social capital & place.

"Public health responses need to look beyond individual resilience and consider the environments, services & community assets that help people feel connected, supported & able to participate."