By Jillianne Bandstra, Communications Director, Maybelle Center
Yes. Loneliness and social isolation raise the risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, dementia, depression, and earlier death. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that loneliness is linked to about 871,000 deaths worldwide each year.
How big is the risk?
A review of studies including more than 3.4 million people found that loneliness raises the risk of earlier death by 26%. Social isolation raises it by 29%, and living alone by 32%. Other research found that people with poor social relationships had a 29% higher risk of heart disease and a 32% higher risk of stroke.
There is good news, too. People with strong social connections have 50% greater odds of survival than people with weak ones.
Why don’t more people know this?
Most of us underestimate it. In a 2025 study of more than 2,300 adults in the US and UK, people ranked loneliness and social isolation near the bottom of nine factors that affect how long we live. Research puts social connection near the top. Even people who felt very lonely underestimated the risk.
Doctors often miss it too. In a 2025 survey of 681 health care providers, 70% said every patient should be asked about social connection. Only about 17% ask nearly all of their patients.
Who is most at risk?
Anyone can feel lonely. The risk is higher for people with poor physical or mental health, money worries, or who live alone. And loneliness isn’t only an issue for older adults. The risk of early death linked to isolation is actually greater for people under 65.
What helps?
Social connection protects health. The WHO says it can lower inflammation and reduce the risk of serious health problems. Everyday steps help, like reaching out to a friend or joining a local group. But for many people, connection takes more than willpower. It takes places and people that welcome them, what the WHO calls “social infrastructure.” Researchers have found that few loneliness programs work at the community level, where these places are built.
How does Maybelle Center help?
Maybelle Center is a community health organization in downtown Portland that uses belonging as the intervention. We are not a clinic. We build the relationships that health care isn’t designed to provide.
Through our Neighborhood Programs, adults navigating mental health challenges or financial hardship find a place where they are known. Membership is free and never expires. Our Community Room in Old Town is open four days a week, and our programs reach more than 35 affordable housing buildings across downtown, including weekly visits from volunteers. In 2025, 241 Members took part, with more than 6,000 interactions.
We also measure belonging. In our February 2026 survey, 70% of Members who responded said they feel a sense of belonging in our community. As Member Vince puts it: “The community at Maybelle Center are the people that I call family.”
What have we learned about moving from loneliness to belonging?
After more than 30 years of this work, we’ve learned that belonging rarely happens all at once. A few patterns stand out.
It often starts with an invitation from a peer. Member Jill signed up three years before she ever came inside. What finally brought her in was two other Members who kept inviting her to Friday bingo. She walked in nervous. “Everybody knew my name in two minutes,” she says.
Trust is built in small, repeated moments. For Jill, one sign was simple: “I put my bag there, and nobody will touch it.” Being greeted by name, week after week, does more than any single event.
Having a voice matters, and it’s where we’re still growing. In our 2026 survey, 88% of Members who responded said they feel welcomed and included. Only 44% said they feel able to influence decisions. Belonging means more than being welcomed. It means having a say. Jill shows what that looks like: when she pointed out that candle prizes at bingo didn’t work for Members who can’t light candles at home, the next prize was a diffuser.
Since 1991, our neighborhood work has run almost entirely on donor gifts. Neighborhood Programs are free to Members and made possible by people like you. Give today, or if you know someone who is lonely, refer them to us.
Frequently asked questions
Is loneliness the same as social isolation?
No, but they’re closely related. Social isolation is about the facts of your life: how often you see or talk with other people. Loneliness is about how you feel: the painful gap between the connection you want and the connection you have.
One can happen without the other. Someone who lives alone and sees few people may feel content. Someone surrounded by people may still feel lonely. But the two often go together, and each one raises health risks on its own. Research links loneliness to a 26% higher risk of earlier death, and social isolation to a 29% higher risk.
Is loneliness a public health issue?
Yes. In 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory on what it called an epidemic of loneliness and isolation. In 2025, the World Health Assembly adopted its first resolution on social connection, and the WHO called on countries to make social connection a public health priority.
About the author: Jillianne Bandstra has spent nearly 10 years at Maybelle Center, where she is Communications Director. She also supports fundraising and works with Neighborhood Programs on their theory of change, how they evaluate results, and the words used to describe the work. When Maybelle looked for a positive counterpart to “social isolation,” a word for what it builds rather than what people lack, she helped choose “belonging.” She reads widely in the research on belonging, social isolation, social health, and social capital, and holds a master’s in Educational Leadership and an MBA.
Sources
- World Health Organization: Social connection linked to improved health and reduced risk of early death (2025)
- Holt-Lunstad J, et al. Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality: A Meta-Analytic Review. Perspectives on Psychological Science (2015)
- Holt-Lunstad J, et al. Social Relationships and Mortality Risk: A Meta-Analytic Review. PLoS Medicine (2010)
- Valtorta NK, et al. Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke. Heart (2016)
- Holt-Lunstad J. Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine (2021)
- Holt-Lunstad J. Social Connection as a Public Health Issue. Annual Review of Public Health (2022)
- Holt-Lunstad J, Perissinotto C. Social Isolation and Loneliness as Medical Issues. New England Journal of Medicine (2023)
- Proctor AS, Holt-Lunstad J. Blind Spots in Health Perception. BMC Public Health (2025)
- Holt-Lunstad J, et al. Healthcare Providers’ Perceived Importance and Barriers. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (2025)
- Maybelle Center 2026 Impact Report and 2026 Belonging Barometer survey
