Working-age adults with disabilities experience far greater levels of loneliness than their peers without disabilities, according to a new study from researchers at Brown University’s School of Public Health and the Warren Alpert Medical School. The findings reveal that nearly one in three adults with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64 reported persistent feelings of loneliness in a national survey, where participants were asked how often they felt a lack of companionship, left out, or isolated. Alarmingly, around two-thirds of respondents indicated that they frequently experienced severe loneliness, a burden that cut across all types of disability.
The study highlights an often-overlooked public health challenge. While loneliness is widely recognised as a risk factor for illness and premature mortality, there has been limited research examining how it affects people with disabilities, particularly those under the age of 65. The authors suggest that structural and social barriers, which restrict disabled people’s full participation in employment, community life and daily activities, likely intensify their susceptibility to loneliness. These constraints, they argue, may create conditions where isolation becomes not just a personal struggle but a systemic issue with profound health implications.
“Loneliness is known to be a risk factor for morbidity and mortality, but there is sparse research about loneliness among people with disabilities, especially in the age group of adults younger than 65,” said Melissa A. Clark, professor of health services, policy and practice, and director of the Survey, Qualitative and Applied Data (SQuAD) Research Core. “Our study calls attention to the need for further research focused on working-age adults with disabilities, both to characterise the factors driving their exceptionally high loneliness burden and to mitigate downstream health consequences.”
The study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, analysed survey data from more than 3,800 working-age adults with disabilities who took part in the National Survey on Health and Disability. In one survey wave conducted between October 2019 and January 2020, 65% of respondents reported severe loneliness; in a second wave between October 2023 and February 2024, that number rose to 68%. The specific measures also revealed stark patterns: in the first and second waves, respectively, 30% and 33% reported often lacking companionship, 29% and 37% frequently felt left out, and 34% and 40% felt isolated.
These rates are dramatically higher than those observed in the broader population. Data from a nationally representative survey of more than 20,000 U.S. adults without disabilities found that only 8% reported frequently feeling left out or isolated, and just 10% said they often felt alone. Maggie Salinger, co-author of the study and assistant professor of medicine, explained: “We think people with disabilities may be predisposed to loneliness, since disability is a byproduct of social and structural barriers that restrict people’s access to full societal participation. We are worried that a disproportionately high degree of loneliness could compound the array of health disparities already known to affect people with disabilities.”
The authors conclude that addressing loneliness must be a priority within wider efforts to improve health equity for people with disabilities. Their findings suggest that public health strategies to tackle loneliness need to be not only broad in scope but also carefully adapted to reflect the diverse needs of people with different disability types. As Clark noted, “The loneliness crisis is already on public health officials’ radars. This study shows them how important it is to design loneliness interventions that are both accessible and tailored to people with varied disability types.”
More information: Maggie Salinger et al, Disproportionate Loneliness Burden Demonstrated in Two National Samples of Working-Age Adults With Varied Disability Types, Annals of Internal Medicine. DOI: 10.7326/ANNALS-25-00928
Journal information: Annals of Internal Medicine Provided by Brown University
