Why loneliness is bad for your health

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"Large, high-quality research conducted in Alameda County, California, has shown that people who score low on social integration — have few friends and relatives, aren’t married, don’t belong to community organizations — are even three times more likely to die over the next seven years than are those blessed with close-knit relationships. You might think that such effects of friends and family on longevity might matter only for seniors. It could be, after all, as simple as having someone check up on you regularly to make sure you haven’t fallen down the stairs and broken your hip. But that’s not the case. It’s been shown over and over that people of any age who have poor social relations suffer more heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and even pregnancy complications..." [excerpt from Growing Young]