Loneliness is a Public Health Emergency We Can’t Afford to Ignore

There has been a lot of talk over the past few years about public health emergencies–and rightfully so. But amid the discussions on how to respond to pandemics and poverty, another silent calamity has taken hold: loneliness. Today more than ever, we need a policy that takes the significant physical risk of loneliness into account. We must treat it as the public health issue that it is. Research tells us that loneliness affects a third of older adults. The actual number is probably closer to 40 percent. Chronic loneliness is associated with physician visits, increased risk of heart disease and dementia, and an assortment of other health risks, including a 57 percent increase in the risk of emergency department visits for those who suffer from it. Read more from Fortune here.