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Loneliness and social isolation among older Americans have mostly bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, but it still means that over a third of folks aged 50 to 80 feel lonely. Nearly the same number report feeling isolated, according to a fresh national study.

Some older adults, especially those facing serious physical or mental health challenges, experience even higher rates of loneliness and isolation.

The new insights come from a solid review of six years’ worth of data from the National Poll on Healthy Aging, recently published in JAMA by researchers from the University of Michigan Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation.

Since 2018, and as recently as this year, the poll has examined how often older adults nationwide felt lonely (the personal feeling of being alone) and isolated (the social experience of being disconnected from others). The poll receives support from AARP and Michigan Medicine, the academic medical center at U-M.

According to the latest data from 2024, 33% of older adults reported feeling lonely some of the time or often over the past year, which is pretty close to the 2018 rate of 34%. Back in the years between, that number soared as high as 42%!

Similarly, in 2024, 29% felt isolated at least occasionally, a slight increase from 27% in 2018. During the earlier months of the COVID-19 pandemic, a staggering 56% of older adults felt this way, but those numbers have steadily dropped each subsequent year.

“While it might seem positive that we’ve returned to pre-pandemic levels, it’s worth noting that those levels were still concerning. Some groups of older adults are still grappling with high rates of loneliness and social isolation. Fortunately, there’s now a greater awareness of how significant loneliness and isolation can be for our health as we age,”

Preeti Malani, M.D., MSJ, lead author of the study and a professor at the U-M Medical School

Malani, who directed the poll from 2017 to 2022, now serves as a senior advisor.

In 2024, the groups with the highest rates of loneliness were:

• 75% of those reporting their mental health as fair or poor (pretty similar to 74% in 2018)
• 53% of those reporting their physical health as fair or poor (up from 50% in 2018)
• 52% of those who were not working or receiving disability income (excluding retirees, up from 38% in 2018)

For social isolation, the highest rates in 2024 were found among:

• 77% of those reporting their mental health as fair or poor (slightly down from 79% in 2018)
• 52% of those reporting their physical health as fair or poor (up from 43% in 2018)
• 50% of those not working or receiving disability income (up from 36% in 2018)

These figures are double or even more than what older adults with good mental or physical health, or those who are employed or retired, reported.

“These trends are a wake-up call: clinicians must see loneliness and isolation as critical factors in their patients’ lives, particularly for those grappling with serious health conditions,” says Jeffrey Kullgren, M.D., poll director and an associate professor at U-M.

“It’s important to screen for these issues and direct patients to local resources, whether that’s a senior center, local veterans’ groups, volunteering opportunities, or services provided by organizations like Area Agencies on Aging,” he added.

Other key takeaways:

Generally, adults aged 50 to 64 reported feeling lonelier or more isolated than those aged 65 to 80 throughout the study years. In 2024, the younger group hadn’t returned to pre-pandemic levels.

Moreover, older adults with household incomes below $60,000 or those living alone were more likely to report feelings of loneliness and isolation compared to those with higher incomes or living with others. Interestingly, the rates for those living alone in 2024 were lower than those living with others.

Insights into loneliness and isolation in older adults:

This new study adds to the growing body of evidence gathered by U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D., M.B.A., and his team, which was detailed in an official advisory published in May 2023.

The AARP Foundation has launched an initiative called Connect2Affect, providing resources aimed at assisting older adults in overcoming social isolation and loneliness.

Additionally, Malani and her team published a Patient Page in JAMA in May 2024 that’s available for free and designed to be shared by clinicians with their patients.

About the poll:

The data in the recent JAMA paper come from six iterations of the National Poll on Healthy Aging from 2018 to 2024, during which older adults were invited to share how often they experienced companionship deficits or feelings of isolation. The poll conducted in June 2020 asked participants to reflect on their experiences over the previous three months. Keep in mind that the poll isn’t continuous; each round features a unique sample. The sample sizes ranged from 2,033 to 2,563, and the organization running the poll changed in 2022. Further details on the NPHA methodology can be found on their website.