Loneliness, depression, and generalized anxiety across eight countries.

Area of Science:

• Global Mental Health
• Social Determinants of Health
• Epidemiology

Background:

• Loneliness is a growing global public health concern linked to negative mental health outcomes.
• Limited cross-national data exists on the prevalence of loneliness and its association with depression and generalized anxiety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of loneliness across diverse countries.
• To examine the association between loneliness and mental health outcomes, specifically depression and generalized anxiety.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of data from the 2023-2024 Global Social Determinants of Health Survey, a cross-sectional study of 7,997 adults in eight countries.
• Utilized PHQ-9 and GAD-7 screening tools for depression and generalized anxiety, respectively; loneliness was self-reported.
• Employed weighted bivariate and multivariate logistic and Poisson regression models, adjusting for demographic factors.

Main Results:

• Overall prevalence: 38.9% reported loneliness, 9.2% depression, and 5.5% generalized anxiety.
• Loneliness disproportionately affected younger adults, women, lower socioeconomic groups, unmarried individuals, and urban residents.
• Adjusted models showed significant associations: loneliness with depression (OR 2.82) and generalized anxiety (OR 3.89).

Conclusions:

• Loneliness is prevalent and significantly associated with depression and generalized anxiety in diverse global settings.
• Highlights the need to integrate social connection strategies into mental health policies and interventions.
• Recommends future research to explore the causal pathways between loneliness and mental health conditions.