More Americans prone to depression as they opt to live alone: CDC study

More Americans than ever are likely to feel depressed as the number of adults living alone grows nationwide, according to federal data released Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the day after Valentine’s Day that adults living alone who receive little social support were nearly twice as likely as those who live with others to describe themselves as lonely in a national health survey in 2021.

The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics found that 19.6% of those who live alone and “never or rarely” receive social and emotional support reported feelings of depression, compared to 11.6% of those who live with others. The report found similar results across all races, income levels and genders.

The report “highlights the potential vulnerabilities” of living alone, said Laryssa Mykyta, the CDC statistician who wrote it.

“Feelings of depression, like other measures of well-being such as isolation and loneliness, are known to be associated with poor health outcomes,” Ms. Mykyta told The Washington Times.

However, she said it is worth noting that 77.8% of adults living alone reported no feelings of depression in the survey.

The report found that those living alone who “sometimes, usually, or always” receive social and emotional support were not significantly more likely to be depressed than those who lived with others.

According to the CDC, 16% of the adults surveyed in 2021 reported living alone.

From 2012 to 2022, the number of adults living alone in the country increased from 33.1 million to 37.9 million. In 2022, the federal agency noted that 28.9% of all homes were single-person households, more than double the 13.6% in 1962.

While the report builds on earlier research among older adults, the CDC noted it is one of the first to explore the link between living alone and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also one of the first to look at all age levels.

“For example, living alone has been associated with a higher likelihood of reporting serious psychological distress than living with a spouse or partner among adults at midlife and at age 65 and older, and among women age 65 and older,” the report said.