ArticlePloS one2025
The impact of loneliness on depression, mental health, and physical well-being.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Factors Affecting the Mental Health and Wellbeing of Men in Nursing: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis.International journal of nursing practice · 2026Pooled it
- Childhood Sexual Abuse and Rates of Loneliness in Adulthood.JAMA network open · 2026Article
- Long-Term Care Planning and Sustainability of the Care System in the Region.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Understanding the Association Between Substance Use and Loneliness in Midlife and Older Adults.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- Association between loneliness and social isolation and health outcomes among cancer survivors and non-cancer controls.Frontiers in aging · 2026Article
- Factors of pet ownership associated with human health: A representative cross-sectional survey of Switzerland.PloS one · 2026Article
- Social Media engagement and perceived social isolation among older adults in a changing digital environment: evidence from HINTS 2022-2024.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Predicting multiple mental health outcomes in adolescents using explainable machine learning models.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Loneliness as a sex-specific risk factor for cognitive aging.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Review
- Loneliness and cognitive decline among U.S. adults: A stratified analysis of the BRFSS.PloS one · 2026Article
- The Bidirectional Relationships Between Shyness, Loneliness and Depressive Symptoms in Chinese Adolescents.Journal of youth and adolescence · 2025Article
- Loneliness as a Vital Sign: Toward a Biopsychosocial Reframing of Social Disconnection.Journal of primary care & community healthReview
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundLoneliness 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.
objectiveThis 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.
methodsWe 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.
resultsThe 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. Women consistently reported more poor mental health days than men across most loneliness levels. Black individuals reporting loneliness had significantly lower probabilities of depression and fewer poor mental health days than White peers. Older adults (>64) experienced more poor physical health days than younger adults across all loneliness categories.
conclusionLoneliness is a strong and independent predictor of depression and poor health outcomes. Public health interventions aimed at addressing loneliness-especially among high-risk subgroups-are critical to improving mental and physical well-being at the population level.
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Registered trials
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.