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Social disconnection and subsequent mental disorders: a population-based cohort study.
Katrine Brandt Alsner1, Lisbeth Mølgaard Laustsen1,2,3, Mathias Lasgaard2,4
1Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark.
Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology
|February 6, 2026
Summary
Social disconnection, including loneliness and low social support, significantly increases the risk of developing various mental disorders. These findings highlight the need for public health interventions to address social isolation and its mental health consequences.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Psychiatry
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Social disconnection is a known risk factor for adverse health outcomes, particularly depression.
- Previous research has not fully explored the breadth of mental disorders linked to social disconnection or demographic variations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between social disconnection (loneliness, social isolation, low social support) and a wide range of subsequent mental disorders.
- To analyze these associations in a large, population-based cohort.
Main Methods:
- Cohort study utilizing data from the Danish National Health Survey (N=162,483) linked to national health registers.
- Assessed social disconnection via survey measures; identified mental disorders through hospital diagnoses across seven categories.
- Employed Poisson regression to estimate incidence rate ratios (IRRs), adjusting for demographic and socioeconomic factors.
Main Results:
- Socially disconnected individuals exhibited higher incidence rates for all seven mental disorder categories, including substance use, schizophrenia spectrum, bipolar, major depressive, neurotic/anxiety, and personality disorders.
- Loneliness demonstrated the strongest associations (IRRs 2.94–4.94), followed by social isolation (IRRs 1.47–4.80) and low social support (IRRs 1.32–2.82).
- Associations were generally consistent across sexes, but age trends differed for loneliness and social isolation.
Conclusions:
- Consistent and strong associations exist between social disconnection and the incidence of multiple mental disorders.
- Findings underscore the potential for public health interventions targeting social connection to mitigate mental disorder risk.
- Further research is needed to elucidate causal pathways and inform prevention strategies.
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