Nowadays, mental health is a growing concern, and every one of us undergoes what is called a common mental disorder (CMD) once in our lifetime. Common mental disorders (CMDs) includes mood disorders, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Understanding the risk factors associated with CMDs might help prevent its development and its detrimental effects on our health.
A new study, that was published in the journal PLOS ONE, concluded that living on your own is linked to common mental disorders (CMD) and appears to affect all age groups and sexes. They further concluded that the primary driver for this is loneliness.
People living alone are increasing in number mainly due to people tending to get married at an older age and increased divorced rates. There had been several studies done previously on the matter, but none really painted the complete picture of the relationship between loneliness and common mental disorders.
The said study was done by scientists from the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in France. They analyzed data from 20,503 adults, ages 16-74, living in the UK. The data came from three National Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys that experts conducted in 1993, 2000, and 2007 which made use of Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised questionnaires.
Based on the data gathered, the authors found that the number of people living alone has steadily grown. In 1993, 8.8% lived alone. This is compared with 9.8% in 2000 and 10.7% in 2007. Furthermore, their analysis also showed that there is a significant association between living alone and having a CMD. A deeper analysis showed that loneliness explained 84% of the association.
Earlier studies have already shown loneliness to be linked with depression, anxiety and even an increase in mortality risk, and now CMDs.
Although not everyone who lives alone is lonely, for those who are, it is important that these individuals are aware that interventions are available and that they are able to get access to them when needed.
The researchers acknowledge that there are certain limitations to the study. They suggested that longitudinal studies be conducted to ascertain how this relationship might play out over time. Although the study itself wasn't able to clearly delineate cause and effect; i.e. did a person develop a CMD because they lived alone, or did they develop a CMD and then decide to live alone? Or, perhaps, someone with a predisposition for CMDs is more likely to want to live alone?
There is indeed a need for a follow through but the study itself has already shown that the relationship between mental health and living alone is stable across time, that the link is not restricted to older adults, and that loneliness plays a pivotal role.
