While a sizable body of research demonstrates the associations between social connection and health, much of the recent focus in the broader public and to some extent among academics has been on loneliness, with more objective/structural aspects often assumed to be proxies for more influential relationship factors such as relationship functions and quality. However, evidence suggests the actual presence of others (proximity and regular contact) is essential, and many studies document these structural indicators have just as powerful and, in some cases, more potent effects on indicators of health and well-being. This paper summarizes the evidence on social isolation and health and provides a framework for why social isolation may be a powerful predictor of health and mortality.

尽管大量研究表明了社会联系与健康之间的关联，但最近在更广泛的公众中以及在一定程度上在学者中的大部分关注点都集中在孤独上，更多的客观/结构方面通常被认为是更有影响力的关系的代表关系功能和质量等因素。然而，有证据表明，其他人的实际存在（接近和定期接触）是必不可少的，许多研究证明这些结构性指标对健康和福祉指标具有同样强大的作用，在某些情况下，效果更显着。本文总结了关于社会隔离和健康的证据，并提供了一个框架，说明为什么社会隔离可能是健康和死亡率的有力预测因素。