Loneliness hurts, but social isolation can kill you. Both social isolation and loneliness are associated with increased mortality, but it is uncertain whether their effects are independent or whether loneliness represents the emotional pathway through which social isolation impairs health. We therefore assessed the extent to which the association between social isolation and mortality is mediated by loneliness. After adjusting statistically for demographic factors and baseline health, social isolation remained significantly associated with mortality, but loneliness did not. The association of social isolation with mortality was unchanged when loneliness was included in the model. Both social isolation and loneliness were associated with increased mortality. However, the effect of loneliness was … Continue reading Andrew Stepto, Aparna Shankar, Panayotes Demakakos, Jane Wardle