Loneliness and the health of older people

The intense focus on major psychiatric disorders in both contemporary psychiatric research and clinical practice has resulted in the relative neglect of less definable constructs such as loneliness and how such entities might impact on health outcomes. The purpose of this review is to raise awareness among physicians and psychiatrists of the medical impact and biological effects of loneliness as well as making the argument that loneliness should be a legitimate therapeutic target.

Using Pubmed we searched the literature for research and review papers looking at loneliness as a construct, how it is measured and its health effects. We reviewed the relevant papers and have summarized their main findings.