Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for type 2 diabetes onset: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Authors' conclusion
Social isolation and loneliness are significant risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Addressing social connectedness could be a valuable strategy for diabetes prevention, emphasizing the need to incorporate psychosocial factors into public health initiatives.
Study context
- Population
- Individuals who are socially isolated or lonely; 60.5 % female, mean age 57.1 years; studies until February 2025
- Participants
- 1,112,887 individuals9 prospective cohort studies
- Comparison
- Loneliness or social isolation vs not
- Outcome
- Incident T2D
- Follow-up
- Mean 10.7 years
Methodological detailsrandom-effects inverse-variance model with empirical Bayes estimation
- Random-effects inverse-variance model with empirical Bayes estimation
Pooled result
As reported in the abstract
Hazard ratio (95 % CI)
Loneliness32% increased risk
1.32(1.11–1.57)
Social isolation20% higher risk
1.20(1.01–1.43)
- New cases of T2D
- 50,961
Further pooled results
Methodological quality of included studies
- Fair-to-good quality, mean score
- 10.11/14
Original publication
Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for type 2 diabetes onset: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. Published 22 March 2025. doi:10.
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