Torbjörn Tapani / Wikimedia Commons Luleå only gets three hours of sunlight a day in the winterTorbjörn Tapani / Wikimedia Commons
The city of Luleå in northern Sweden recently launched the Säg hej! campaign (“Say hi!”) with ads on buses and talks in schools. The objective is to promote social interaction and reduce loneliness among the city’s residents, especially in winter, when there are only three hours of sunlight per day and people feel even more isolated. In November, the World Health Organization (WHO) followed suit, announcing a Commission on Social Connection to address loneliness as a public health issue, with members from eight countries. According to the WHO, one in four elderly people suffers from social isolation. An analysis of the mortality data of 458,146 adults from the UK Biobank showed that people who receive frequent visits are 39% less likely to die from cardiovascular diseases than people who spend more time alone. A team from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, followed the study participants for an average of 12.6 years, evaluating their social connection by reported feelings of loneliness, frequency of visits from friends, and weekly group activities (BMC Medicine, November 10; WHO Newsletter, November 15, 2023).
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