THE LONELINESS EPIDEMIC: A MODERN PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS AND ITS BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS

The distressing feeling of inadequate social networks and connections is loneliness, and it has escalated into epidemic proportions. It is often considered a contemporary health emergency with chronic risks equivalent to obesity and smoking. Through the dysregulation of stress responses, this physiological trigger increases neuroendocrine imbalance and systemic inflammation, causing heart diseases, including high blood pressure (hypertension) and increased cortisol, as well as a weakened immune system and cognitive decline. Loneliness can also be harmful psychologically, often exacerbating suicidal thinking, depression, and anxiety, as well as reinforcing a cycle of social disengagement. We can argue that loneliness should be recognised as a public health epidemic with significant biopsychosocial consequences that affect quality of life and health outcomes, rather than just being a subjective feeling.