Mental disorders are more common in people who live alone, regardless of their age and sex, according to a study.
Researchers from the University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in France noted that the number of people living alone has increased in recent years due to population ageing, decreasing marriage rates and lowering fertility.
Previous studies have investigated the link between living alone and mental disorders but have generally been conducted in elderly populations and are not generalisable to younger adults.
The latest study, published in the journal PLOS ONE, used data on 20,500 individuals aged 16-64 living in England who participated in the 1993, 2000, or 2007 National Psychiatric Morbidity Surveys.
“Living alone is positively associated with common mental disorders in the general population in England,” Louis Jacob from University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines said in a statement.
