Dr. Alice Chen on Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Women's Health - A Discussion

Loneliness, social isolation, and disconnection from community can happen to anyone, but extended periods can lead to devastating emotional and physical health outcomes. In a solid marriage, single, dating or in relationship, widowed, corporate climber, college student, living with family or in assisted living we are all susceptible, but we may be even more so given the current public health crisis requiring that we physically distance from one another.

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• More than one fifth of adults in the U.S. (22 percent) and the U.K. (23 percent) say they often or always feel lonely, feel that they lack companionship, feel left out, or feel isolated from others.*
• Loneliness and social isolation can be as damaging to health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day and is more dangerous than obesity.**
• Two in five Americans report that they sometimes or always feel their social relationships are not meaningful, and one in five say they feel lonely or socially isolated.**
• Living alone, being unmarried (single, divorced, widowed), no participation in social groups, fewer friends, and strained relationships are not only all risk factors for premature mortality but also increase risk for loneliness.**
• Retirement and physical impairments may also increase the risk of social isolation.**

The Institute for the Advancement of Women’s Health will host a discussion with Alice Chen, M.D. on Saturday, September 12, 2020 from 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. ET. Wife and mother of two children, this topic is of particular interest to Dr. Chen as she and her husband, Dr. Vivek Murthy, 19th U.S. Surgeon General, have studied, presented, and published articles and a book on this topic. Dr. Chen will discuss this research with a women’s health focus and share professional and personal advice for increased socialization and better health outcomes.

Alice Chen, MD is an internal medicine physician, national leader in physician advocacy and public health, and the mother of two young children.  She was a founding board member and served as Executive Director of Doctors for America, a grassroots organization of thousands of physicians and medical students in all 50 states who advocate for policies to improve the lives of their patients. Under her leadership, the organization played an important role in the passage of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion in multiple states, the push for federal funding for gun violence research, and the successful confirmation of Dr. Vivek Murthy as the 19th Surgeon General. She is an Adjunct Assistant Clinical Professor at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She lives with her husband and children in Washington, DC

Please plan to join us for this extraordinary and timely discussion. You may send questions for Dr. Chen in advance of the discussion to AdvancingHerHealth@gmail.com

SUBJECT: Loneliness

*Kaiser Family Foundation

** U.S. Department of Health and Human Services