The impact of loneliness on depression, mental health, and physical well-being

作者：Oluwasegun Austine Akinyemi, Waliah Abdulrazaq, Mojisola Fasokun, Fadeke Ogunyankin, Seun Ikugbayigbe, Uzoamaka Nwosu, Miriam B Michael, Kakra Hughes, Temitope Ogundare · 发表于：PLoS ONE · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1371/journal.pone.0319311 · 被引用次数：22 · 研究领域：Health disparities and outcomes、Aging and Gerontology Research、Mental Health Treatment and Access

BACKGROUND: Loneliness is a growing public health concern, with substantial implications for mental and physical health. Despite increasing attention, it remains an underrecognized determinant of health outcomes in population-based research. OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates the association between loneliness and key health outcomes, including depression diagnosis, poor mental health days, and poor physical health days, using a nationally representative sample. METHODS: We analyzed Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 2016 to 2023. Loneliness was measured with the question, "How often do you feel lonely?" and categorized into five levels: Always, Usually, Sometimes, Rarely, and Never. We estimated average treatment effects (ATE) using inverse probability weighting (IPW), adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and incorporating BRFSS sampling weights and fixed effects for state, and year. RESULTS: The study included 47,318 individuals, predominantly White (73.3%), female (62.1%), and aged 18-64 years (72.1%). Over 80% of participants reported some degree of loneliness. Compared to those who reported "Never" being lonely, individuals who reported being "Always" lonely had a significantly higher predicted probability of depression (50.2% vs. 9.7%, ATE = +40.5 percentage points, p < 0.001), 10.9 more poor mental health days, and 5.0 more poor physical health days per month (all p < 0.001). Disparities were evident across sex, race/ethnicity, and age....