Global Trends and Disparities in Social Isolation

How did the global prevalence and trajectories of social isolation change among within-country income groups between 2009 and 2024?In this repeated cross-sectional study of 159 countries, the global prevalence of social isolation increased by 13.4% over the 16-year study period (from 19.2 to 21.8), with the entire increase occurring after 2019. The disparity in isolation prevalence between high-income and low-income groups peaked in 2020 at 10.8 percentage points (high-income, 15.6% vs low-income, 26.4%).This study suggests that targeted interventions to address disparities in isolation prevalence and increasing isolation levels are warranted.

Corresponding Author: Thomas E. Fuller-Rowell, PhD, Department of Human Development and Family Science, Auburn University, 203 Spidle Hall, Auburn, AL 36849 (tef0005@auburn.edu).

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