A study found that people living alone face a higher risk of premature death than those living with family in multi-person households.
The National Institute of Health under the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on the 1st that an analysis of large-scale health data from Korea and the United Kingdom showed that single-person households recorded higher rates for both overall mortality risk and premature death risk compared with multi-person households. The findings were published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings.
The study was conducted by a joint research team of Yoon Jae-seung, Lee Jun-yeop, Lee Seung-hwan, and Han Kyung-do with support from the National Institute of Health. Using data from the National Health Insurance Service in Korea (about 2.44 million people) and the UK Biobank cohort (about 500,000 people) from 2006 to 2021, the team compared and analyzed health risks among single-person households in the East and West.
Compared with multi-person households living with family, the "overall mortality risk" for single-person households was 25% higher in Korea and 23% higher in the United Kingdom. In particular, the "premature death risk," defined as death before age 65, increased by 35% among single-person households in Korea and 43% among those in the United Kingdom. The risk of death also tended to rise when the period of living alone was five years or longer.
The researchers said the increased mortality risk in single-person households stems from a complex interplay of factors, including ▲ economic factors such as low income ▲ psychological factors such as loneliness and depression ▲ lifestyle factors such as smoking and obesity. Among these, income level had the greatest impact on higher mortality risk, with a contribution of about 42.3%.
However, practicing healthy habits substantially reduced the risk of death. According to the team, single-person households that practiced all healthy habits—non-smoking, moderate drinking, and regular exercise—had a 57% lower overall mortality risk and a 44% lower premature death risk than those that did not.
The team explained that the protective effect of healthy habits was more pronounced in single-person households than in multi-person households, showing that lifestyle improvements can largely offset the health vulnerabilities associated with living alone.
Nam Jae-hwan, head of the National Institute of Health, said, "The rise in single-person households is a global demographic and social shift," adding, "This study is significant in that it scientifically demonstrates that isolation and worsening lifestyle habits due to living alone are key variables affecting health."