People With Disabilities Have High Rates of Loneliness

FRIDAY, Aug. 8, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Loneliness among people with disabilities (PWD) is high, according to a study published online Aug. 5 in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Maggie Salinger, M.D., and Melissa A. Clark, Ph.D., from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, characterized loneliness severity in PWD. The analysis included working-age U.S. adults (aged 18 to 64 years) participating in the National Survey on Health and Disability (NSHD; wave 1 [October 2019 to January 2020] included 2,175 individuals; wave 2 [October 2023 to February 2024] included 1,638 individuals).

The researchers found that the burden of severe loneliness (three-item UCLA Loneliness Scale score ≥6) was 65 percent in wave 1 and 68 percent in wave 2. Rates of “often” responses ranged from 18 to 52 percent across samples and disability categories. Mean three-item UCLA Loneliness Scale scores ranged from 5 to 7 without significant variation by category.

“Regardless of how disability was classified, NSHD respondents reported persistent feelings of loneliness at substantially greater rates than the general population,” the authors write. “Further research is needed to understand varying drivers of loneliness in this population. Efforts to mitigate loneliness and its sequelae must include accessible interventions targeting PWD, including the sizable subset whose disabilities are missed by American Community Survey-6-or Supplemental Security Income/Social Security Disability Insurance-based measures.”

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)