This reading list provides links to various publications considering the causes and impact of loneliness, as well as possible interventions to deal with the issue in society.
Loneliness: a reading list (762 KB , PDF)
Around 47% of adults in England experience loneliness occasionally or more often, according to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) Community life survey 2019/20 (2020).
Office for National Statistics (ONS) analysis in 2016/17 suggests that people with a long-term disability, widowed homeowners, unmarried middle-agers and young renters, experience the greatest likelihood of feeling some degree of loneliness.
Some academic research has suggested that loneliness or social isolation is linked to poorer health outcomes, including early death, higher rates of depression and cognitive decline. Loneliness may lead to higher costs in the public and private sector due to greater service usage, absences and productivity losses. One 2017 report, by the New Economics Foundation, estimated that loneliness costs UK employers £2.2-£3.7 billion per year.
This reading list is a companion to the Library’s Tackling loneliness (CBP 8514) briefing, which sets out in greater detail the incidence and impact of loneliness and strategies adopted to tackle it across the UK.
The reading list includes academic, third-sector and official reports and statistics on:
The bibliography also includes the incidence and impact of loneliness on different groups of people, including:
The paper also cites material on strategies to tackle loneliness, its financial costs, and the health impacts of loneliness.
Please note that the Library is not responsible for either the views or accuracy of external content cited in the paper.
Loneliness: a reading list (762 KB , PDF)
Between February and June 2022, multiple vaccine-like-type-2 poliovirus isolates were collected from the London Beckton Sewage Treatment Works. This briefing paper sets out information about polio disease and the response of the UK Government and the UK Health Security Agency.
The cost of an NHS prescription, who is entitled to free prescriptions and how to get help with prescription costs.
Summarises data on animal experiments in Great Britain, including species used, creation and breeding of genetically-altered animals, severity of procedures, and university experiments.
