Feeling lonely? Now you can blame it on your genes

LONELINESS is often blamed on modern life as more people live alone and rarely see family and friends.

But scientists have identified genetic variations which may cause people to feel this way, meaning about 5% of loneliness is inherited from our parents.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge analysed 452,302 people from a national genetic study, then compared their DNA to answers on whether they lived alone, how often they visited family and friends and how often they felt they could confide in someone close to them. The people classed as lonely had ‘different spellings’ of their DNA at 15 genetic sites.

These variations were also found to make people more neurotic, depressive and more likely to be overweight.

Dr John Perry, who led the research, said: ‘We often think that loneliness is driven purely by our surrounding environment and life experiences, but this study demonstrates that genes can also play a role.’