A new report from Age UK has used data from Understanding Society to look at the scale of loneliness among older people and its impact on their mental health.
The publication, You are not alone in feeling lonely, says 940,000 older people in the UK are often lonely – 7% of people aged 65 and over. It adds that 9 in 10 older people who are often lonely are also unhappy or depressed, compared to 4 in 10 of those who are hardly ever lonely.
Age UK combines our data with ONS projections, and adds: “If we don’t tackle loneliness, by 2034 there will be 1.2 million people over 65 in England who will often feel lonely, with far reaching consequences.”
The report also used data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing to show that 3% of over-65s in England go a week without speaking to a friend or family member – and that those people are almost three times more likely to be lonely than people who speak to friends and family more often.
The charity presents evidence from medical research, too, showing that loneliness is bad for our physical and mental health, being linked to acceleration of frailty and increased risk of heart disease, stroke and dementia.
Age UK Director Caroline Abrahams says: “Addressing loneliness among older people is an essential element of Age UK’s work. The good news is that there is much that can be done. We know what works to tackle loneliness, and the examples in this report are a real cause for optimism showing that, with sustained investment in the right approaches, we can make a positive difference to older people’s lives.”
The report recommends specific ways local, regional and national government, funders, charities and communities can work together to combat loneliness.
This research used Understanding Society Waves 13 and 14, and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
