How Loneliness Gets Under the Skin: Inflammation Mediates the Relationship Between Loneliness and Gait Speed.

Objective: Loneliness is linked to interleukin 6 (IL-6), a marker of systemic inflammation, which chronically has deleterious effects on physical and mental health across the adult life span. This study investigated cross-sectional relationships among loneliness, IL-6, demographics, multimorbidity, depression, obesity, friendship quantity, and slowed gait.

Methods: Data from the Midlife Development in the United States Biomarker Project, a national adult sample ( N = 822; age range, 26-78 years) was used for this study.