Loneliness is bad for health and wealth in the UK

(Press-News.org) Lonely people incur an extra £850 in annual healthcare costs to the NHS, as well as experiencing worse mental and physical health

In the UK, 4 in 10 citizens identify as being lonely at least some of the time, and people who report being often lonely incur about £850 more in annual National Health Service costs than their non-lonely counterparts, according to a study published September 3, 2025 in the open-access journal PLOS One by Nia Morrish from the University of Exeter, and colleagues.

 The World Health Organization recognizes loneliness as a ‘priority public health problem.’ Research supports this claim, but the effect of loneliness on healthcare costs remains largely unknown.

 Morrish and colleagues analysed the Understanding Society UK Household Longitudinal Study, which gathers survey and interview data from UK adults. They looked at self-reported loneliness, health and well-being measures and National Health Service expenditures across 23,071 participants from 2021-2023. Healthcare costs were estimated at £49 per general practitioner visit, £217 per outpatient visit and £1,111 per inpatient case.

 About 32 per cent of participants felt lonely some of the time and approximately 8 per cent reported feeling lonely ‘often.’ Loneliness was associated with mental distress, worse mental well-being and poorer physical and mental functioning.

Lonely individuals – those who reported feeling lonely often – incurred approximately £900 more in annual National Health Service costs (including GP, outpatient, and inpatient care) than non-lonely individuals. This suggests those experiencing loneliness booked more outpatient visits and GP appointments.

The authors observed that the difference in healthcare costs associated with loneliness tended to increase with age, such that lonely older adults tended to incur relatively more in NHS costs compared to their non-lonely peers than did lonely middle-aged adults. The exception was the youngest often lonely adults, aged 16-24, who actually incurred larger costs versus their non-lonely peers than those in the next age groups of 25-34-year-olds and 35-49-year-olds. The age-related cost of loneliness could therefore be U-shaped.

The authors note their finding that loneliness affects health and related costs more significantly in 16-24-year-olds supports provision of increased healthcare resources for lonely young adults. As their dataset predominantly comprised white Britons, they also encourage investigating loneliness's impact on ethnic minorities and understudied groups.

 

Lead author Nia Morrish, postdoctoral research associate in public health economics at the University of Exeter said: “We know that loneliness has a significant effect on health and wellbeing, particularly among older adults. However, we know much less about its impact across the wider population and on healthcare service use. Using a large U.K.-based dataset, this study examined both the health and economic consequences of loneliness. We found that people experiencing loneliness, especially in younger adulthood and later life, incur higher NHS costs compared with those who are not lonely. Loneliness was also strongly linked with poorer health, reduced wellbeing, and lower quality of life.”

Co-author Professor Antonieta Medina-Lara, of the University of Exeter, said: “Our findings highlight the importance of recognizing loneliness as both a public health issue and an NHS priority. Too often overlooked, loneliness carries substantial personal and societal costs. By making these visible, we hope to encourage new approaches to help people build connections, improve wellbeing, and ultimately reduced the burden on health services.”

 

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