This study was conducted to determine the relationship between loneliness and social support in adolescents affected by the earthquake.

This descriptive correlational study was conducted in April-May 2023 with 549 adolescents aged 12-18 living in 11 provinces affected by the February 6, 2023, Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquake in Turkey. In this study, the snowball sampling method was used. Data were collected using a Descriptive Information Form, the UCLA Loneliness Scale, and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support.

Statistical analyses included independent t-test, one-way ANOVA with post hoc Tukey HSD and Dunnett’s tests, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analysis.

Most adolescents were significantly affected by the earthquake. Their loneliness score was below average, while their perceived social support score was above average. There was a significant negative relationship between loneliness and perceived social support. Key factors influencing loneliness included satisfaction with current living conditions, loss of relatives, and feelings of loneliness post-earthquake.

The findings highlight the critical role of social support in reducing loneliness among adolescents affected by the earthquake. Enhancing social support networks and addressing factors such as living conditions and loss experiences are crucial for improving the psychological well-being of disaster-affected adolescents.

Despite concerns over increasing adolescent loneliness and its lasting negative impact on mental and physical health, global trends and the gender and socioeconomic inequalities remain unclear. The study examined trends in adolescent school loneliness from 2000 to 2022 across 87 countries, analyzing disparities by gender, socioeconomic status, and country-income level.

We analyzed data from the Programme for International Student Assessment, a nationally representative survey of 15-year-olds conducted in 2000, 2003, 2012, 2015, 2018, and 2022. School loneliness was measured by a composite score from six self-reported questions. We used mixed-effects regression modeling and meta-regression to analyze trends by gender, socioeconomic status, and country-income level (low and lower-middle, upper-middle, or high).

Among the 2,155,046 students, 50.8% were girls (n = 1,095,010), and school loneliness increased over time. Although boys initially reported higher school loneliness, girls’ school loneliness increased more rapidly, surpassing boys’ levels around 2012 in high-income countries and around 2018 in upper-middle-income countries. This gender-based reversal was not evident in low- and lower-middle-income countries. Low socioeconomic status was consistently associated with greater school loneliness across genders and across all country-income groups.

Adolescent school loneliness has increased globally over the past two decades, becoming particularly pronounced among girls in wealthier nations, leading to a widening gender gap by 2022. Socioeconomic disadvantages are a common risk factor for higher levels of school loneliness across all income groups. Public health strategies aimed at mitigating global trends in adolescent school loneliness and addressing its socioeconomic and growing gender disparities are warranted.

Loneliness has been linked to increased risk of mood disorders, but its relationship with bipolar disorder (BD) and underlying neurobiological mechanisms remain unclear.

This prospective cohort study utilized data from the UK Biobank, involving 491,472 individuals aged 38–73 years without prior BD diagnosis at baseline (2006–2010). Participants reported loneliness and provided data on demographic, socioeconomic, lifestyle factors, and polygenic risk scores (PRS) for BD. Follow-up extended until 2022, tracking incident BD cases. Neuroimaging analyses examined gray matter volume (GMV) associations with loneliness, considering genetic susceptibility.

Over 16 years, 1,316 participants developed BD. Loneliness was associated with a more than threefold increased risk of BD (hazard ratio [HR], 3.31; 95% CI, 2.97–3.69), which remained significant after adjusting for covariates (HR, 2.83; 95% CI, 2.47–3.23). Neuroimaging revealed that loneliness correlated with widespread reductions in GMV, particularly in regions involved in emotion regulation and social cognition. These neurobiological effects were more pronounced in individuals with higher BD PRS.

Loneliness is prospectively associated with a substantially increased hazard of BD and is linked to extensive brain structural changes, especially in genetically susceptible individuals. These findings highlight the importance of addressing loneliness to potentially mitigate BD risk and its neurobiological impact.

According to attachment theory, loneliness may be a cause of hoarding symptoms. However, due to mixed findings, it is unclear whether people with hoarding disorder (HD) are lonelier than healthy and clinical controls, whether there is a significant positive association between loneliness and hoarding, and whether loneliness causes more severe hoarding.

We conducted a systematic review and included peer-reviewed quantitative cross-sectional, longitudinal, experimental and intervention research that measured hoarding and loneliness. We excluded hoarding due to other conditions and qualitative, review, and case study research. The final search was conducted on 16 May 2025 on PsycINFO, Medline, and Web of Science. We used the Quality Assessment with Diverse Studies to evaluate study quality and conducted a random effects meta-analysis to examine loneliness-hoarding correlations.

Eleven papers with 13 studies (n = 2715) were included. Four studies compared loneliness in HD relative to controls. Ten studies examined the association between hoarding and loneliness. Only one experimental study examined the causal link. Results showed significantly higher loneliness in HD relative to healthy controls, but findings were mixed when compared with clinical controls. The meta-analysis showed a significant association between loneliness and hoarding, r = .38 [95% CI .33, .44].

Our findings confirm that loneliness is a significant issue in HD. Due to its wide-ranging effects, we recommend that clinicians should assess and address loneliness in HD. Although we are confident that loneliness is positively associated with hoarding, further research is required to establish a causal link.

Social isolation and loneliness are recognised as important risk factors for various health outcomes. However, their impact on functional bowel disorders (FBDs) remains underexplored.

To explore the associations of social isolation and loneliness with the risk of FBDs in a large prospective cohort.

We included 396 009 participants from UK Biobank who were free of cancer and FBDs at baseline. Social isolation and loneliness were assessed using validated self-reported questionnaires. Incident FBDs were ascertained during follow-up. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios and 95% CIs. Mediation, subgroup and sensitivity analyses were conducted.

Over a mean follow-up of 15.2 years, 31 877 incident FBDs cases were recorded. Compared with the least isolated, the most isolated had a higher risk of FBDs (hazard ratio 1.15, 95% CI 1.11–1.20). Loneliness was also associated with higher risk (hazard ratio 1.28, 95% CI 1.21–1.35). The highest risk was observed among participants who were most isolated and lonely (hazard ratio 1.46, 95% CI 1.33–1.60). Depression, anxiety and low physical activity partially mediated the associations between social isolation/loneliness and FBDs. The association between social isolation and FBDs risk appeared stronger among male, overweight and unemployed individuals, whereas middle-aged adults were more susceptible to loneliness-related risk.

Social isolation and loneliness were associated with a higher risk of FBDs, particularly when co-occurring. These findings underscore the potential relevance of social disconnection to FBDs and suggest that it may represent a target for future preventive strategies.

Adverse health behaviors, such as physical inactivity and smoking, constitute a potential pathway connecting loneliness to poor mental and physical health. No prior study has investigated the dynamic interplay between loneliness and a broad range of health behaviors across the first half of life.

We used data from a Norwegian population-based cohort study (n = 3,072) spanning 28 years from adolescence to midlife. Applying a propensity score-based causal inference approach, we examined bidirectional prospective associations between loneliness and health behaviors, comprising alcohol use, body mass index (BMI), smoking, and physical exercise.

Loneliness in adolescence was associated with lowered physical exercise (mean difference: −14.13 minutes/week, 95% CI: −26.54 to −1.72), and loneliness during young adulthood was linked to increased BMI (0.37 points, 0.12–0.63). In the reverse direction, moderate alcohol use (−0.07 SD, −0.13 to −0.01 and − 0.19 SD, −0.33 to −0.05), smoking (−0.12 SD, −0.23 to −0.01), and moderate physical exercise (−0.16 SD, −0.26 to −0.07 and − 0.07 SD, −0.14 to −0.01) during adolescence and emerging adulthood were linked to reduced loneliness. All other associations were consistent with a null effect.

Our results provide limited support for the causal effects of loneliness on health behaviors across the first half of life. By contrast, findings in the reverse direction suggest that health behaviors in young people – whether health-promoting or risky – are socially embedded and may facilitate socializing. To tackle youth loneliness, public health policies should promote equitable access to health-promoting behaviors.

The role of loneliness and social isolation in the progression from incident type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to subsequent depression remains underexplored. Further investigation is essential to better understand how these factors influence disease progression.

This study enrolled 427,594 participants without T2DM and depression at baseline. Multistate models were employed to assess the impact of loneliness and social isolation on transitions from a healthy state to incident T2DM, then to subsequent depression, and finally to death. These associations were further examined across individuals with varying glycemic statuses, including normal glucose tolerance and prediabetes.

Over a median follow-up period of 13.66 years, 14,141 incident cases of T2DM, 1,149 subsequent cases of depression, and 33,024 death events were recorded. Loneliness and social isolation were associated with elevated risks of disease progression across most transitions. For the transition from incident T2DM to subsequent depression, the loneliness group exhibited a significantly higher risk (HR = 1.802, 95% CI: 1.521–2.135) compared to the no-loneliness group. Similarly, the most isolated group had an HR of 1.390 (95% CI: 1.185–1.632) compared to the least isolated group. Additionally, participants with prediabetes faced a higher risk of developing depression following T2DM compared to those with normal glucose tolerance. Interaction analyses revealed that employment status and history of cancer modified the association between loneliness and the transition from baseline to death.

These findings underscore the importance of targeted interventions to address loneliness and social isolation, potentially reducing the risk of disease progression and mortality in individuals with T2DM.

Among military veterans, loneliness is common and associated with poorer mental and physical health and functioning. Epidemiological studies have revealed bidirectional, longitudinal associations between loneliness and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Little is known about loneliness among treatment-seeking veterans, how loneliness impacts PTSD symptom change during treatment, and whether loneliness has differential associations with specific PTSD symptom clusters.

Data were derived from the Veterans Outcome Assessment, an annual, repeated-measures (baseline and 3-month follow-up) telephone survey of patients beginning new episodes of mental health care in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Participants were 1,155 veterans (23% women) entering PTSD specialty care. We tested whether baseline loneliness predicted change in total PTSD symptom severity and according to the five-factor Dysphoric Arousal model of PTSD using hierarchical regressions in which we statistically adjusted for demographics and mental health encounters.

Loneliness decreased between baseline and 3-month follow-up (d = 0.39). Baseline loneliness predicted change in PTSD for the dysphoric arousal and negative alterations in cognitions and mood symptom clusters, with lonelier veterans demonstrating more PTSD change between baseline and follow-up. However, lonelier veterans also had more severe PTSD symptoms at both timepoints. This pattern of results held even after accounting for different types of treatment encounters between timepoints.

While lonelier veterans have more severe PTSD symptoms, they also make greater improvements in symptoms salient to interpersonal functioning over time. Assessment of loneliness should be incorporated into PTSD treatment planning and considered as a treatment target that could be addressed to promote recovery.

Research on the link between threat-related and deprivation-related adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and the risk of gastrointestinal (GI) and liver diseases in later life remains limited. This study aims to evaluate the independent associations of threat-related and deprivation-related ACEs with the development of GI and liver disorders in middle-aged and older Chinese adults.

This prospective cohort study used data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study, which included participants aged 45 and older who had complete ACE data, two health assessments, and no pre-existing GI or liver conditions at baseline. Participants reported on five threat-related and deprivation-related ACEs before age 17. GI and liver diseases were classified based on self-reported physician diagnoses.

The outcomes of GI and liver diseases are based on self-reported physician diagnosis and broad categories. Compared with no exposures, participants with two or more threat-related ACEs exhibited a higher risk of both chronic liver disease (hazard ratio [HR], 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.04–1.52; P = 0.016) and GI disease (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.20–1.55; P < 0.001); two or more deprivation-related ACEs showed stronger associations with GI disease (HR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.28–1.70; P < 0.001); and no significant associations with liver disease risk across all exposure levels. Additionally, depressive symptoms accounted for 10.7% (P = 0.003) of the association between threat-related ACEs and liver disease risk and accounted for 12.7% (P < 0.001) of the association between threat-related ACEs and GI disease risk. Midlife loneliness accounted for 5.3% (P = 0.001) of the association between threat-related ACEs and incident GI diseases and for 3.7% (P = 0.004) of the association between deprivation-related ACEs and incident GI diseases.

Threat-related ACEs are directly associated with an increased risk of liver and GI diseases. A modest proportion of this observed relationship is partially mediated through depressive symptoms and loneliness in middle age.