They deserve to not be alone
Loneliness within the elderly community is a rising epidemic with devastating consequences
Epidemic proportions
1.2 million older people in UK are chronically lonely
(Age UK)
51% of all people aged 75 & over live alone
(ONS, 2010)
11% of elderly are in contact with family or friends less than once a month
(Victor et al, 2003)
40% of elderly (3.9m) say the television is their main company
(Age UK, 2014)
20% of elderly people in the UK who feel lonely say they have no-one to turn to
(The Campaign to End Loneliness)
People aged 80 & above are expected to more than double by 2037 & people aged over 90 are expected to triple
(ONS, 2015)
Harmful to health
Loneliness increases the likelihood of mortality by 26%
(Holt-Lunstad, 2015)
(Age UK)
Loneliness and isolation is comparable to the impact of well-known risk factors such as obesity & is comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes per day
(Holt-Lunstad, 2010)
A meta-analysis showed loneliness can increase the risk of premature death by 30%. The analysed studies involved 3.2m people
(Brigham Young University, 2015)
Lonely individuals are more prone to depression
(Cacioppo et al, 2006)
One study concludes lonely people have a 64% increased chance of developing clinical dementia
(Holwerda et al, 2012)
Degradation of mental and physical health, due to loneliness, can lead to premature care, & nursing home admissions