Maybe Isolation, Not Loneliness, Shortens Life

Feeling Isolated? It May Affect Your Longevity
Former prostitute Martha Gonzalez talks with AFP in her room at Casa Xochiquetzal in Mexico City, a refuge for retired and active prostitutes older than 60, on January 4, 2013. AFP PHOTO/Pedro PARDO (Photo credit should read Pedro PARDO/AFP/Getty Images)
Former prostitute Martha Gonzalez talks with AFP in her room at Casa Xochiquetzal in Mexico City, a refuge for retired and active prostitutes older than 60, on January 4, 2013. AFP PHOTO/Pedro PARDO (Photo credit should read Pedro PARDO/AFP/Getty Images)

Loneliness hurts, but social isolation can kill you. That's the conclusion of a study of more than 6,500 people in the U.K.

The study, by a team at University College London, comes after decades of research showing that both loneliness and infrequent contact with friends and family can, independently, shorten a person's life. The scientists expected to find that the combination of these two risk factors would be especially dangerous.

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