Investigating relationships between loneliness, social isolation and health

Darren D. Hilliard; Robyn E. Wootton; Hannah M. Sallis; Margot P. Van De Weijer; Jorien L. Treur; Pamela Qualter; Padraig Dixon; Eleanor C.M. Sanderson; David J. Carslake; Rebecca C. Richmond; Patricia Beloe; Lucy Turner-Harris; Lauren Bowes Byatt; Marcus R. Munafò; Zoe E. Reed

doi:10.1038/s41467-026-74758-7

Investigating relationships between loneliness, social isolation and health

Darren D. Hilliard
, Robyn E. Wootton
, Hannah M. Sallis
, Margot P. Van De Weijer
, Jorien L. Treur
, Pamela Qualter
, Padraig Dixon
, Eleanor C.M. Sanderson
, David J. Carslake
, Rebecca C. Richmond
, Patricia Beloe
, Lucy Turner-Harris
, Lauren Bowes Byatt
, Marcus R. Munafò
, Zoe E. Reed

Vice Chancellor's Office

Nesta
University of Bristol
MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit
Lovisenberg Diakonale Hospital
Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
University of Manchester
University of Oxford

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Loneliness and social isolation are important public health concerns due to their associations with a range of health outcomes. However, it is difficult to ascertain whether any effects are biased by confounding and reverse causation. We use a triangulation approach combining observational, sibling control, and Mendelian Randomisation analyses (a genetically informed analysis), to draw robust conclusions about these relationships. Using a combination of UK Biobank data (N = 8,004 to 414,432) and genome-wide association studies (N = 17,526 to 2,083,151), we examine relationships between loneliness and social isolation and outcomes related to physical health, mental health and wellbeing and general health (e.g., multimorbidity capturing both mental and physical health). We find evidence for effects of loneliness and social isolation on poorer mental health and wellbeing and of loneliness on poorer general health. We do not find evidence of effects on specific physical health outcomes; however, these effects cannot definitively be ruled out.

Original language	English
Article number	5840
Number of pages	14
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	17
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74758-7
Publication status	Published - 15 Jul 2026

Data Availability Statement

The UK Biobank data are available under restricted access for approved researchers, access can be obtained through a procedure described at http://www.ukbiobank.ac.uk/using-the-resource/. Access details for GWAS data used in this study are outlined below: Social isolation: GWAS summary statistics generated as part of this study are available from the University of Bristol’s Research Data Repository (http://data.bris.ac.uk/data/), at: https://data.bris.ac.uk/data/dataset/39m1awtj2tjtu2ugpbq5lg12hx81. Loneliness: GWAS summary statistics excluding 23andMe can be downloaded from https://t.co/ARgS84uwKl. Data for the top 10,000 genetic variants including 23andMe are available from the authors at request. Coronary artery disease (CAD): GWAS summary statistics are available here: http://ftp.ebi.ac.uk/pub/databases/gwas/summary_statistics/GCST90132001-GCST90133000/GCST90132314/ with accession GCST90132314. Heart failure: GWAS summary statistics are available here: https://cvd.hugeamp.org/dinspector.html?dataset=GWAS_HERMES_eu. Stroke: Details on the GWAS can be found here: https://www.megastroke.org/. For the European subset we contacted the authors of the paper. Systolic blood pressure: GWAS summary statistics are available here: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/publications/30224653 with accession GCST006624. Type 2 diabetes: GWAS summary statistics are available on request from dbGaP (T2D: Phs001672; Pha004945; T2D.EUR.MVP_Penn_DIAMANTE_Malmo.NatGen2020). Suicide attempts: The GWAS summary statistics can be requested here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc4hGOJ181WGfP3yTjMxUmdf4d6hK0dkXSwRO0ivcPdZIOslg/viewform. Depression: The GWAS summary statistics are available to download from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) (https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/mdd2018/14672085) after agreeing to abide by their data access conditions. Anxiety: The GWAS summary statistics are available to download from the PGC after agreeing to abide by their data access conditions. Wellbeing: The GWAS summary statistics excluding 23andMe are available to download from: https://www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/publications/30643256.

Funding

This work was supported by Nesta. Some of the co-authors (D.D.H., P.B., L.T.H., and L.B.B.) work at Nesta and were involved in the design of the study, analysis, and write up. This work was also supported in part by the UK Medical Research Council Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol (MC_UU_00032/1 and MC_UU_00032/7). REW is funded by a postdoctoral fellowship from the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority (2020024). J.L.T. and M.P.V.D.W. are funded by the European Union (ERC, UNRAVEL-CAUSALITY, project nr. 101076686). Views and opinions expressed are however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them. P.D. received support from the National Institute for Health and Care Research Applied Research Collaboration for Oxford and the Thames Valley (NIHR ARC OxTV) through a Dementia Capacity Building Post-Doctoral Training Scheme (DEM-COMM). The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the funders, NHS or Department of Health and Social Care. R.C.R. is supported by Cancer Research UK (grant number: C18281/A29019).

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

ASJC Scopus subject areas

General Chemistry
General Biochemistry,Genetics and Molecular Biology
General
General Physics and Astronomy

Access to Document

10.1038/s41467-026-74758-7Licence: CC BY

Cite this

Hilliard, D. D., Wootton, R. E., Sallis, H. M., Van De Weijer, M. P., Treur, J. L., Qualter, P., Dixon, P., Sanderson, E. C. M., Carslake, D. J., Richmond, R. C., Beloe, P., Turner-Harris, L., Bowes Byatt, L., Munafò, M. R., & Reed, Z. E. (2026). Investigating relationships between loneliness, social isolation and health. Nature Communications, 17(1), Article 5840. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74758-7

Hilliard, DD, Wootton, RE, Sallis, HM, Van De Weijer, MP, Treur, JL, Qualter, P, Dixon, P, Sanderson, ECM, Carslake, DJ, Richmond, RC, Beloe, P, Turner-Harris, L, Bowes Byatt, L, Munafò, MR & Reed, ZE 2026, 'Investigating relationships between loneliness, social isolation and health', Nature Communications, vol. 17, no. 1, 5840. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-74758-7

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AU - Qualter, Pamela

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AU - Carslake, David J.

AU - Richmond, Rebecca C.

AU - Beloe, Patricia

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Investigating relationships between loneliness, social isolation and health

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

Funding

UN SDGs

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Access to Document

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