Clear links between loneliness and mental health distress

New research finds a direct two-way link between the impacts of loneliness and greater mental health distress.

Research also finds that young people, disabled people and the LGBTQ community are at higher risk of chronic loneliness.

Ministers across a range of Government departments to launch a renewed effort to tackle loneliness as part of national recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings, which coincide with the start of Loneliness Awareness Week, analysed mental health wellbeing and the impacts of loneliness over a sustained period, with results showing that chronic loneliness played a significant role in the onset and continuation of mental health distress.

The analysis also shows that mental health distress can play a significant role in the onset and continuation of chronic loneliness. Chronic loneliness is defined as people reporting they ‘often’ or ‘always’ feel lonely.

It suggests that targeted early intervention may play a more significant role in combating the effects of loneliness on mental health in the short term.

The Minister for Civil Society and Youth will now bring together ministers from a range of government departments to drive forward a renewed effort to tackle loneliness. The group will develop a delivery plan which will draw on this new evidence and set out new government action on loneliness early next year.