All alone? Blame 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 per cent of loneliness is inherited.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge analysed 452,302 people from the UK Biobank national genetic study.

The team then compared their DNA to questionnaire answers on whether they lived alone, how often they visited family and friends and how often they felt they could confide in someone close.

The people classed as lonely, based on the results, had ‘different spellings’ of their DNA at 15 genetic locations. These same 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.’

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, found another set of genetic variations which determine how people spend their time.

There are six which could push people into joining sports clubs, another 13 predict whether people go to a pub or social club at least once a week, while 18 are linked to religious groups.

Dr Perry added: ‘Loneliness is a major social problem, particularly among older people, and we thought it was important to look at the influence of genetic and environmental factors.’

Around a quarter of people over 65 suffer from loneliness, which has been compared to smoking because studies show it causes people to die sooner.