Surgeon General Vivek Murthy addresses loneliness as a public health crisis.
US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has warned that loneliness is a "profound public health challenge" that is as dangerous to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Nearly 50% of all Americans are thought to have been affected by loneliness, which increases the risk of premature death by almost 30% through health conditions including diabetes, heart attacks, insomnia, and dementia. Mr Murthy has called for a collective effort to "mend the social fabric of our nation" in order to "destigmatise loneliness and change our cultural and policy response to it". His strategy has six pillars that include efforts to strengthen social infrastructure in communities, in part by utilising public health systems.
- US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy recounts bout of profound loneliness BBC
- Surgeon general lays out framework to tackle loneliness and 'mend the social fabric of our nation' CNN
- Loneliness poses risks as deadly as smoking: surgeon general Yahoo News
- Loneliness poses public health threat, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says The Washington Post
- Loneliness is a Health Crisis, Surgeon General Says. Here’s How to Combat It. The New York Times
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