Therapist Rebecca Boone Warns Loneliness Increases Mortality Risk

Therapist and mental‑health consultant Rebecca Boone told Newsweek that friendships act like a protective health behavior, and that chronic social isolation can dramatically raise health risks. She cited research showing that loneliness carries a mortality risk comparable to smoking fifteen cigarettes per day.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports that loneliness lifts the chance of heart disease by 29 %, stroke by 32 % and dementia in older adults by 50 %. A separate analysis links a lack of social connection to more than a sixty‑percent increase in premature death.

Survey data from the Pew Research Center (2023) indicate that 53 % of adults have one to four close friends, 38 % have five or more, while 8 % report having no close friends at all. Boone emphasizes that maintaining and forming new social ties is crucial for both mental and physical health.