Andrew Steptoe
Psychologist and epidemiologist whose cohort study is the source of the widely quoted claim that isolation matters and loneliness does not.
Who they are
Steptoe works at University College London on ageing, stress and health. The 2013 analysis used the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing to separate isolation from loneliness in the same people over the same period.
It is a good study and it is one cohort, which matters when reading it against a meta-analysis.
Key papers
Steptoe, A., Shankar, A., Demakakos, P., & Wardle, J. (2013). Social isolation, loneliness, and all-cause mortality in older men and women. PNAS, 110(15), 5797-5801.
Key ideas
Isolation was measured through contact with family and friends and participation in civic organisations; loneliness through a standard questionnaire; mortality tracked over an average of just over seven years.
After adjusting for demographic factors and baseline health, social isolation remained significantly associated with mortality and loneliness did not, and the isolation association was unchanged when loneliness was added to the model.
The authors conclude that both impair quality of life and wellbeing, and that efforts to reduce isolation are likely to be more relevant to mortality.
Concepts on this site
Sources
- doi:10.1073/pnas.1219686110