Cross-National Evidence on Risk of Death Associated With Loneliness: A Survival Analysis of 1-Year All-Cause Mortality Among Older Adult Home Care Recipients in Canada, Finland, and Aotearoa | New Zealand

Loneliness is increasingly recognized as an important factor affecting the well-being of older adults. Between 17% and 57% of North Americans experience loneliness, with the highest rates seen in older adults.1 Rates up to 20% are reported for older adults in Western Europe and Aotearoa | New Zealand (ANZ).2,3 There are reports that loneliness is associated with premature mortality,4-10 with some sources positing that it poses a public health risk equivalent to smoking.11 However, these findings are not as unequivocal as popular reports imply.