Middle-aged Americans experience higher levels of loneliness than older generations

Middle-aged Americans demonstrated some of the highest levels of loneliness in a new study assessing tens of thousands of 50-to-90-year-olds across 29 countries.

The peer-reviewed research, published in Aging and Mental Health, shows loneliness generally increases with age – with only the United States and the Netherlands representing places where middle-aged people feel more lonely than older generations.

There is a general perception that people get lonelier as they age, but the opposite is actually true in the U.S. where middle-aged people are lonelier than older generations. Advocacy and interventions to address the loneliness epidemic have historically focused on older adults and adolescents. Middle-aged adults represent a critical population that is being overlooked."

Robin Richardson, PhD, lead author, social and psychiatric epidemiologist and assistant professor, Emory University's Rollins School of Public Health

Loneliness is a significant public health concern, responsible for a wide range of physiological, cognitive, mental and behavioral health outcomes that decrease quality of life and increase the risk of disease. 

Using data from 64,324 older adults in countries across Europe, North America, and the Middle East, Richardson collaborated with experts from Columbia University; McGill University in Canada; and Universidad Mayor in Santiago, Chile.

They investigated prevalence of loneliness, linked with demographic and health factors, to investigate factors that contribute to loneliness throughout life.

The team found that while loneliness generally increased with age, the size of the increase was greater in some countries than others. Adults in Bulgaria and Latvia reported the most substantial increase in loneliness as people age. They found that adults in Cyprus and Greece had the highest prevalence of loneliness among adults aged 50 – 90 years.

The U.S. had a substantially higher prevalence of loneliness among middle-aged adults, a pattern shared with only one other country, the Netherlands.

Why are middle-aged people reporting higher loneliness levels?

Being unmarried, not working, depression and poor health were major reasons why loneliness varied with age, but the importance of these contributors and the combination of factors were different in each country.

For example, in the U.S., not working was the top reason for a higher amount of loneliness among middle-aged adults, while in other countries it resulted in more loneliness among older adults.

Approximately one fifth of loneliness contributors remained unexplained across countries, and this unexplained 20% was concentrated among middle-aged adults. The authors suggest this could be due to the unique social circumstances middle-aged adults face, such as highly constrained leisure time to socialize due to competing work, childcare, and aging parents' caregiving demands.

Middle-aged adults have unique experiences that may differ substantially from other age groups and may contribute to loneliness. The United States has less robust social safety nets than many of the other study countries and is exceptional in its high cost of care, which may make middle-aged adults especially vulnerable to loneliness, the authors say.

What can be done to mitigate loneliness?

"Our work shows that loneliness varies remarkably across country and age, and accordingly loneliness is not an immutable consequence of age or environment. This finding suggests that loneliness may be very sensitive to changes to life circumstances," says Richardson.

"Our findings show that loneliness is not just a late-life issue," adds senior author Dr. Esteban Calvo, Dean of Social Sciences and Arts at Universidad Mayor in Chile. "In fact, many middle-aged adults-often juggling work, caregiving, and isolation-are surprisingly vulnerable and need targeted interventions just as much as older adults. Globally, we must extend depression screenings to middle-aged groups, improve support for those not working or unmarried, and adapt these efforts to each country's context-because a one-size-fits-all approach will not solve this worldwide problem."

Given that loneliness varies across location and life circumstances, health policies and social programs to reduce loneliness should first confirm which age groups are at highest risk of loneliness in a particular setting, the authors add.

Limitations of the research include a low response rate among people from some countries. Additionally, the disclosure of sensitive health conditions such as loneliness and depression may have been underreported in some countries.

However, to mitigate this, data was harmonized to enable the same loneliness measurement approach, analysis, and variables across countries.