An unpleasant feeling in which a person feels a strong sense of emptiness and solitude resulting from inadequate levels of social relationships is common in people undergoing some form of depression due to loneliness. Many health experts adjudicated to be people friendly as it helps a person to come out of a bad patch in life.

But till date, it has always been taken as a non-serious psychological thing that engulfs a person for a period of time. But a team of researchers at UCSF has come out with a study that would make a lot of people think twice regarding loneliness.

The researchers claim that loneliness can be unbearable to older adults and can lead to serious health implications and even death. The researchers came to this conclusion after analyzing the Health and Retirement Study. This study was conducted between 2002 and 2008 and involved over 1,604 adults.

According to Carla Perissinotto, the first author of the study and Assistant Professor in the UCSF Division of Geriatrics, “In our typical medical model, we don't think of subjective feelings as affecting health. It's intriguing to find that loneliness is independently associated with an increased rate of death and functional decline”.