Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32407646›Full record

SynthesisJournal of the Royal Society of Medicine2020

Loneliness, social isolation, cardiovascular disease and mortality: a synthesis of the literature and conceptual framework.

Sam Hodgson, Isabella Watts, Simon Fraser, Paul Roderick, Hajira Dambha-Miller

Open access · hybridAbstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 73 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
73citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
8.4field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

73 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 186 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Are social isolation, lack of social support or loneliness risk factors for cardiovascular disease in Australia and New Zealand? A systematic review and meta-analysis.Health promotion journal of Australia : official journal of Australian Association of Health Promotion Professionals · 2022
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  10. Coronary Artery Disease and Loneliness: A Cross-Sectional Analysis using the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale.The International journal of angiology : official publication of the International College of Angiology, Inc · 2026
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13 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Sam HodgsonDivision of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, University of Southampton, Hampshire SO16 5ST, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-5610-850X
Isabella WattsFoundation Doctor, St. George's University Hospital, London SW17 0QT, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1974-2365
Simon FraserDivision of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, University of Southampton, Hampshire SO16 5ST, UK.
Paul RoderickDivision of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, University of Southampton, Hampshire SO16 5ST, UK.
Hajira Dambha-MillerDivision of Primary Care, Population Sciences and Medical Education, University of Southampton, Hampshire SO16 5ST, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-0175-443X
University of Southampton · GBSt George's Hospital · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

To conduct a systematic review and develop a conceptual framework on the mechanisms linking loneliness, social isolation, health outcomes and mortality. Electronic databases were systematically searched (PubMed, MEDLINE, Scopus and EMBASE) from inception to October 2018 followed by manual searching to identify research on loneliness, social isolation and mortality in adults published in the English language. Articles were assessed for quality and synthesised into a conceptual framework using meta-ethnographical approaches. A total of 122 articles were included. These collated observational designs examining mediators and moderations of the association in addition to qualitative studies exploring potential mechanisms were included. A framework incorporating 18 discrete factors implicated in the association between loneliness, social isolation and mortality was developed. Factors were categorised into societal or individual, and sub-categorised into biological, behavioural and psychological. These findings emphasise the complex multidirectional relationship between loneliness, social isolation and mortality. Our conceptual framework may allow development of more holistic interventions, targeting many of the interdependent factors that contribute to poor outcomes for lonely and socially isolated people.

Indexed as

Cause of DeathCardiovascular DiseasesDatabases, FactualDelivery of Health CareFemaleHealth PolicyHumansLonelinessMalePolicy MakingPsychologyQualitative ResearchRisk AssessmentSocial IsolationSurvival AnalysisUnited Kingdomhealth policyhealth promotionqualitative researchSocial conditions and disease

Identifiers

PMID32407646
PMCPMC7366328
OpenAlexW3024567735

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.