Loneliness and Mortality

Loneliness and Mortality

Reviewed by Faisal Zaidi

Loneliness is the gap between the connection a person has and the connection they want. Whether that gap predicts dying sooner, independently of how isolated they actually are, is unsettled.

What it is

The distinction matters because the two are measured differently. Isolation is counted. Loneliness is reported. A person can score badly on one and well on the other, and the popular treatment of the subject runs them together.