The holidays can be a lonely time for seniors

One of the quietest and saddest American tragedies plays out in homes across the country during the most joyous of seasons.

At a time when families and friends gather to create new memories and communities deck the halls, millions of seniors will remain parties of one. They are suffering from an isolation that creeps up on them, often after retirement, when their families have busily moved on, when friends and acquaintances have passed away, when health ailments occur more regularly and when mobility can no longer be taken for granted.

This isolation, and the loneliness that inevitably follows, has become our nation’s silent plague.

When our seniors are isolated and lonely, the health consequences are severe. Social isolation involves having a limited number of social ties; loneliness is a subjective feeling of sadness at being alone. Both conditions raise the risk of mortality by more than a quarter and heighten the risk of heart disease and stroke. The lonely are more likely than others to become afflicted with Alzheimer’s and dementia.

Yet with the Boomer retirement wave cresting and about 10,000 of them retiring every day, our nation has done relatively little to address this public health challenge. The solutions range from the simple and immediate — individuals reaching out to elders in their world — to the complex and long term, such as policy changes that prioritize building social infrastructure for seniors.

But only a national commitment to combating social isolation and loneliness can turn the tide.

Across the nation, our social infrastructure is fraying. Membership in churches and other religious institutions, a lifeline for many people, has dropped sharply in the past two decades. Only about one in five U.S. adults feels highly attached to his or her community. One in three older adults outside of nursing homes lives alone, and almost half of women 75 and older live alone, which puts them at risk of isolation, especially if they fall ill or become disabled. And one-quarter of adults older than age 65 live in small towns and rural communities where “aging in place” can be challenging because of limited resources.

In fact, many isolated people want connections. Personal attributes over which we have no control — such as living with a disability or chronic illness or experiencing poverty — contribute to social isolation and loneliness. So do structural concerns such as lack of transportation, poor or nonexistent health care and social services and limited opportunities for recreation and social activities.

There’s a cost to our nation when our seniors suffer. Socially isolated older adults incur $134 more per month in Medicare costs ($1,608 per year), compared with the average Medicare user. A coordinated national campaign would raise awareness among the public and within the public health community and bring new urgency to studying and responding to social isolation and loneliness.

We can also build on existing programs, such as Meals on Wheels and local aging groups, which could identify isolated seniors and connect them to supports that help reduce loneliness. Police officers, faith leaders and even the postal workers and delivery people who regularly approach seniors’ doors, could also be trained to be part of the solution. We can screen seniors for social isolation and loneliness when they take their annual Medicare exams and encourage health care plans to offer benefits that address social isolation and reduce health costs.

I’ve struggled with isolation and feelings of loneliness at many points in my life as a result of my hearing loss, and this issue has become more central to me as I approach retirement age. I’ve come to embrace a simple truth we all know in our hearts: The people around us can make all the difference.

So, this holiday season, I encourage you to reach out to someone you know. Ask them a simple, yet rarely voiced question: “Are you lonely?”

Then invite them to tell you their story. If enough of us take the time to see and reach out to people in our lives who are struggling with loss, depression, anxiety or, yes, loneliness, we’ll all be better for it.