Living alone tracked a larger rise in death rates before age 65 than after, in a U.S. survey linked to death records

What the research found

The American Cancer Society press room posted this on 27 October 2026. Hyunjung Lee and colleagues report in the International Journal of Epidemiology. The press note says the paper was to be published that day. They linked 598,023 adults aged 18 and older in the National Health Interview Survey, years 1998 to 2018, to the National Death Index, with about 22 years of follow-up. Compared with living with others, living alone was associated with a 22 percent higher all-cause death rate at ages 18 to 64 and a 6 percent higher rate at age 65 and older. Under 65, the reported associations included suicide 58 percent higher, heart disease 41 percent higher, diabetes 34 percent higher, colorectal cancer 27 percent higher, cerebrovascular disease 23 percent higher, accidents 17 percent higher, and all injuries 27 percent higher. At 65 and older they included suicide 103 percent higher, hypertension 28 percent higher, heart disease 11 percent higher, and all injuries 16 percent higher. Measured differences explained 57.1 percent of the all-cause gap at ages 18 to 64 and 85.4 percent at 65 and older. The release says the number of U.S. adults living alone rose from 9.4 million (7.6 percent) in 1967 to 38.1 million (14.8 percent) in 2023. Lee said living alone is not necessarily harmful, and that the extra deaths concentrate among people who already have health conditions and high-risk exposures. This is an association. It does not prove that an address causes death. The sample includes both sexes, and this card does not use a sex-specific result. The age split covers under 40, 40 to 59, and 60 and older, so the card is tagged all ages. Not medical advice.

Evidence level: Human study. A study in people, but an association isn't proof of cause.

Read the original at American Cancer Society