Interview with Dr. Oluwasegun Akinyemi, MD, MSc, PhD – Senior Research Fellow, Clive O. Callender Outcomes Research Center, Howard University College of Medicine, U.S.

Interview with Dr. Oluwasegun Akinyemi, MD, MSc, PhD – Senior Research Fellow, Clive O. Callender Outcomes Research Center, Howard University College of Medicine, U.S.

Author of PLOS One paper: Akinyemi O, Abdulrazaq W, Fasokun M, Ogunyankin F, Ikugbayigbe S, Nwosu U, et al. (2025) The impact of loneliness on depression, mental health, and physical well-being. PLoS One 20(7): e0319311. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0319311

What first drew you to study the association between loneliness and health issues like depression?

As a physician and researcher, I’ve seen how social isolation silently worsens both mental and physical health—especially in underserved communities. Loneliness felt like an invisible epidemic, and I wanted to use data to make its consequences visible and quantifiable.

How did you go about investigating these associations?

We analyzed data from over 47,000 U.S. adults using a nationally representative health survey. By applying advanced statistical methods, we could estimate how different levels of loneliness impacted depression diagnoses and the number of days people reported feeling mentally or physically unwell.

What are the key findings from your research?

People who felt lonely "always" had a fivefold increase in depression risk, 11 more poor mental health days, and 5 additional poor physical health days per month compared to those who never felt lonely. These effects were consistent even after accounting for age, race, gender, and other factors.

What most surprised or interested you about your findings?

The magnitude of the impact was striking—particularly that over 80% of adults reported some level of loneliness. We also found that Black individuals reported lower depression despite high loneliness, suggesting culturally complex protective factors worth exploring further.

What kind of public health interventions can help address loneliness and, by extension, improve the mental and physical well-being of people at risk?

Interventions like social prescribing, community-building programs, and integrating social connection screening into routine care can help. Technology-driven tools can also connect isolated individuals, especially in rural or underserved areas.

What do we know about which particular groups of people are more prone to experiencing loneliness?

Younger adults, women, the unemployed, and people with less formal education were more likely to report loneliness. Loneliness doesn’t only affect the elderly—it cuts across all ages and backgrounds.

Do you think there is still stigma around admitting to experiencing loneliness, and if so, what part might this play in its negative impact?

Yes, deeply. Admitting loneliness can be perceived as weakness or social failure, which may discourage people from seeking help. This silence can worsen health outcomes and delay interventions that could prevent long-term harm.

What do you hope your findings might lead to, and what are the next steps for your research?

We hope this study prompts national action to recognize loneliness as a modifiable risk factor, like smoking or obesity. Our next steps include evaluating interventions and studying how digital tools and cultural factors shape loneliness in diverse populations.