A study concluded that loneliness and social isolation can subtract nearly six years of life free of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety, in addition to having a smaller, but significant, impact on physical health. The work was led by a team from the Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine at Tulane University (United States) and was published in the journal Nature Communications. The study's lead author, professor Lu Qi, stated: "Overall, the study found that social isolation and loneliness can have a considerable impact on disease-free life expectancy." "This covers both physical and mental illnesses." While loneliness and social isolation may seem like interchangeable concepts in everyday language, specialists describe them as distinct from each other. Social isolation is an objective measure of the degree of social connection a person has, whereas loneliness is a subjective measure of a person's dissatisfaction with the quality of their relationships, regardless of how sociable they actually are. Through a statement, professor Qi said the research results did not surprise the team. "Previous studies had linked social isolation and loneliness to mortality, especially premature mortality, and this study provides additional evidence," he commented. How many years of good health loneliness can "steal" from you, according to a study. Photo: referential. How many years of good health loneliness and social isolation can "steal" from you, according to the study. The researchers followed and analyzed data from 277,489 adults aged 40 to 69 who, at the start of the study, did not suffer from any of the seven major chronic diseases: diabetes, heart disease, lung disease, dementia, cancer, depression, and anxiety. They then evaluated how loneliness and social isolation influenced the number of years of disease-free life, using age 50 as the reference point. Compared with their counterparts who suffered from neither loneliness nor social isolation, women who experienced both conditions lived 2.4 fewer years free of physical diseases, and men 1.7 fewer years. The impact on mental health was even greater: women lived approximately 3.7 fewer years free of mental disorders, and men nearly 5.8 fewer years. "Our research revealed that men are more likely to be affected by loneliness. We also know that women tend to live longer than men. There are gender advantages against certain diseases," professor Qi explained. In addition, the researchers concluded that a healthy lifestyle — which includes diet, exercise, sleep, and not smoking — significantly reduced the loss of disease-free years associated with social isolation. However, a healthier lifestyle did not significantly reduce the additional health risks stemming from loneliness. According to the researchers, this suggests that both conditions may require different types of intervention. It should be noted that the study was observational in nature, so it does not prove that loneliness and social isolation are the direct cause of the reductions in years of life. In future research, the team will examine different population groups and evaluate causality through clinical trials.