The stress of isolation can take a significant toll on our emotional well-being.

We live in an increasingly hyper-linked, inter-connected, social-media world. But despite the many ways we can stay connected to each other, we are literally more isolated today than we have ever been. The number of people living on their own has doubled over the last three decades, to 1 in 3 in both the United Stated and the UK.

This growing isolation appears to be taking an emotional toll on our emotional health. The newest research – published in the journal BMC Public Health - shows that the risk of depression (measured by people taking antidepressants) is almost 80% higher for those living alone compared to people living in any kind of social or family group.

For women, one-third of this risk was due to factors such as lack of education and low income. For men, the biggest risk factors included a poor job climate, lack of social support and heavy drinking.

It is known that living alone can increase the risk of mental health problems for the elderly and for single parents. Very little though is known about the effects of isolation on working-age people. In this study, researchers in Finland followed 3500 working-aged men and women for seven years. They wanted to see if one’s living arrangement was as large a risk factor for depression as more common, established risk factors – like psychosocial, socioeconomic, and health risk factors (including smoking, heavy drinking and low physical activity).

The Stress of Loneliness

Dr. Laura Pulkki-Raback, who conducted the research at the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health, explained, “Our study shows that people living alone have an increased risk of developing depression. Overall there was no difference in the increased risk of depression by living alone for either men or women. Poor housing conditions (especially for women) and a lack of social support (particularly for men) were the main contributory factors to this increased risk.”

Dr. Raback took a more ominous tone when describing the actual risks of depression in this population, stating, “This kind of study usually underestimates risk because the people who are at the most risk tend to be the people who are least likely to complete the follow up. We also were not able to judge how common untreated depression was.”

While this study clearly identifies some of the factors which increase the risk of depression for people who live alone, over 50% of the increase in risk is still unexplained. The researchers believe this may be due to feelings of alienation from society, a lack of trust, or difficulties arising from critical life events. They concluded that all of these factors need to be addressed in order to begin understanding – and hopefully reducing – the incidence of depression in people of working age.

March 22, 2012
The Heathy Mind Network 

Story Source:
The above story contains original content and/or information reprinted and editorially adapted by The Healthy Mind. Material is provided by the BioMed Central and EurekAlerts. 

Image Credit: Rolands Lakis 

NOTE: Any medical information published on this website is not intended as a substitute for informed medical advice and you should not take any action before consulting with a health care professional. For more information, please read our TERMS AND CONDITIONS.