News Psychology

Loneliness is higher among middle-aged Americans than older ones

That makes the United States a global outlier, a new study shows

A man sitting alone at a dining table in a dimly lit room, reading something, with a glass of red wine and a partially eaten meal in front of him.

Worldwide, loneliness tends to increase from midlife to later life. That trend is reversed in the United States. Researchers suspect a poor social safety net for caregivers might be partially to blame.

Steve Prezant/Tetra images/Getty Images Plus

By Sujata Gupta

Across the world, loneliness tends to increase after midlife. But for reasons that aren’t altogether clear, the United States is an outlier, with loneliness steadily decreasing from the middle to later years of life, researchers report April 22 in Aging and Mental Health.