The fact of to live alone is associated with common mental disorderssuch as depression and anxiety, study finds published in PLOS ONE this May 1. And this, regardless of age or gender. Previous research has already investigated the link between loneliness at home and mental health problems. But they have generally been conducted with older populations, and could not be generalized to younger adults.
A risk up to 2 times higher
For this new report, French researchers at the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines used data from 20,500 English people aged 16 to 64 who took part in national psychiatric morbidity surveys in 1993, 2000 and 2007. They observed that the proportion of people living alone has increased in recent years, due to the aging of the population and declines in marriage and fertility rates. The prevalence of people living individually in 1993, 2000 and 2007 was indeed 8.8%, 9.8% and 10.7% respectively.
In those same years, the rates of common mental disorders were 14.1%, 16.3% and 16.4%. And every year, in all ages, men and women, there was a positive association between living alone and these pathologies. This lifestyle increased the risk 1.39 to 2.43 times, depending on the subgroups.
Loneliness and mental well-being
This is due to a simple factor: the solitude. It was the cause of 84% of depression or anxiety in this population, according to the authors. “Interventions that address loneliness could […] contribute to the mental well-being of people living alone”they suggest. The United Kingdom has already committed to the fight against this scourge, which kills slowly. Last October, Prime Minister Theresa May allowed GPs to prescribe “social” activities for their patients, such as dance lessons. “This is a vital first step in a national mission to end the loneliness in our lives”she said.
Read also :
- Towards a pill to fight loneliness
- Launch of the first Solitude Day
