Oxford research explores how poverty and loneliness are linked to pain, fatigue and low mood

The study, published in Public Health, examined survey responses from over 24,000 people across 20 European countries. It found that 49% of people in the lowest income group reported feeling lonely in the previous week, compared with just 15% of those in the highest income group. This was despite no measurable difference in how often people across income levels reported socialising with family, friends, or colleagues.

The relationship between poverty and poor health is well established, and previous research suggests that loneliness may be as bad for you as smoking. Our study shows that for people who are both on low incomes and lonely the health costs are particularly marked. I hope this study inspires more research into the factors that lead people to feel socially disconnected and to the development of policies that support strong communities in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.

Dr Arran Davis, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography

The research team, led by Dr Arran Davis, a postdoctoral researcher at Oxford’s School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, investigated how poverty and loneliness are related to a particular set of physical and emotional symptoms – including pain, fatigue and low mood – which they describe as a “defensive symptom cluster”.

This cluster of symptoms, the researchers suggest, may reflect an evolved biological response to perceived threats or scarcity in a person’s environment.

From an evolutionary perspective, humans have long depended on strong social bonds to access resources and protection. When people feel socially excluded or isolated, their bodies may respond in ways that are intended to protect them – for example, through pain that limits movement, or low mood and tiredness that encourage energy conservation.

The study found that people who feel lonely tend to report higher levels of these symptoms. Moreover, the effects were significantly more pronounced for those on lower incomes.

Lead author Dr Arran Davis, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography, explained:

‘The relationship between poverty and poor health is well established, and previous research suggests that loneliness may be as bad for you as smoking. Our study shows that for people who are both on low incomes and lonely the health costs are particularly marked. I hope this study inspires more research into the factors that lead people to feel socially disconnected and to the development of policies that support strong communities in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.’

Key findings include:

• The average lonely person had a symptom score higher than 67% of non-lonely people. This difference was even greater for those in the lowest income group, where the average lonely person had a score higher than 73% of their non-lonely peers.
• In contrast, among people in the highest income group, lonely individuals scored higher than 65% of their non-lonely counterparts – a smaller difference.
• 30% of lonely individuals in the lowest income decile reported particularly high symptom scores, compared with just 2% of non-lonely individuals in the highest income group.
• These patterns remained even after controlling for other factors such as marital status and living arrangements.

The findings support previous research that suggests supportive social relationships can help buffer the negative effects of economic hardship. The new study adds to this by showing that the importance of social connection for wellbeing may actually increase when material resources are limited.

This suggests that while loneliness is associated with poorer health outcomes for people across the income spectrum, the effects are most pronounced for those living in poverty. The authors suggest that strong social relationships may help buffer some of the health consequences of economic hardship, and addressing loneliness may be an important component of public health interventions aimed at reducing health inequalities.

Read the full paper, ‘Associations amongst poverty, loneliness, and a defensive symptom cluster characterised by pain, fatigue, and low mood’ in Public Health.

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