Associations of loneliness, social isolation and healthy lifestyle with life expectancy free of major physical disease and mental disorder

Loneliness and social isolation are linked to higher risks of mortality and a range of adverse physical diseases and mental disorders, yet the extent to which they affect overall health and quality of life remains unclear. Here we show that loneliness and social isolation are more strongly associated with life expectancy free of mental disorder than with life expectancy free of physical disease. This study includes 277,489 adults from the UK Biobank who are initially free of seven major chronic diseases (type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, neurodegenerative disease, cancer, depression, and anxiety). At age 50, women and men experiencing both loneliness and social isolation, as compared to their counterparts experiencing neither, live 2.4 and 1.7 fewer years free of physical disease and 3.7 and 5.8 fewer years free of mental disorder, respectively. Notably, the loss of disease-free life expectancy associated with social isolation narrows with healthier lifestyles, but the corresponding association for loneliness was not statistically significant. The authors observe that loneliness and social isolation relate to shorter life expectancy free of physical (type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory disease, neurodegenerative disease, and cancer) and mental disorders (depression and anxiety) in the UK Biobank. These associations are particularly pronounced for mental disorders, and the loss of disease-free life expectancy associated with social isolation is attenuated in individuals with healthier lifestyles.