Loneliness is an urgent threat to global health

According to the Guardian , on November 16, the WHO decided to include “loneliness” in the list of urgent threats to global health. The agency also established the Commission on Social Connectivity - an international committee dedicated to studying loneliness.

According to WHO, loneliness has emerged in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has disrupted a wide range of economic and social activities, increasing the level of loneliness of many people. This issue has also received more attention as more people realize the importance of mental health.

“[Loneliness] crosses boundaries and is becoming a global public health concern, affecting every aspect of health, wellbeing and development,” said special envoy Mpemba.

Meanwhile, Dr Vivek Murthy, head of the Commission on Social Connectivity, compared the health risks of loneliness to those of smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and even outweighed the risks associated with obesity and physical inactivity.

According to Mr. Murthy, loneliness is a factor that increases the risk of dementia in the elderly by 50%, while also increasing the risk of coronary artery disease or stroke. Currently, 1 in 4 elderly people in the world have to live in loneliness.

Loneliness has become widespread following the Covid-19 pandemic, with serious health consequences for one in four older adults and one in seven young people worldwide, according to a WHO report.

According to the Guardian , 12.7% of young people in Africa face loneliness, double the 5.3% in Europe. Lonely young people are more likely to drop out of school, increasing the risk of depression and suicide.

"This problem does not affect just one country. This is a global threat that is being underestimated," Mr. Murthy emphasized.

“Not having enough strong social ties increases the risk of stroke, dementia, depression, suicide and more,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

According to CNN , the “psychiatric disease” of loneliness has recently attracted a lot of attention in the public health field. Last week, New York State (USA) appointed therapist Ruth Westheimer as the state’s first loneliness ambassador. In 2018, the UK also appointed its first minister to deal with loneliness.

Minh Hoa (reported by Thanh Nien, VietNamNet)

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