Health Survey for England, 2024

This report includes findings from the 2024 Health Survey for England (HSE) for adults aged 16 and over. It describes self-reported loneliness and subjective wellbeing, using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS).  

Detailed tables accompanying this report can be accessed here. 

• In 2024, 22% of adults felt lonely at least some of the time, including 6% who reported that they often or always felt lonely.  
• Younger adults were more likely than older adults to report feeling lonely at least some of the time, with 29% of those aged 16 to 24 feeling lonely at least some of the time compared with 15% of those aged 65 to 74.  
• Feeling lonely at least sometimes was more common among women (24%) than men (20%).  
• Adults who reported being in bad or very bad health were more likely than those who reported being in good or very good health to say they were lonely at least some of the time (49% compared with 17%).  
• In 2024, mean wellbeing scores based on WEMWBS were 50.5 among adults aged 16 and over. The mean wellbeing score increased with age, from 48.8 for adults aged 16 to 24 to 52.6 for adults aged 65 and over.  
• Wellbeing scores were lower in more deprived areas, with a mean score of 48.0 in the most deprived areas compared with 52.2 in the least deprived areas.  

Persistent and prolonged exposure to feeling lonely has been associated with an adverse impact on wellbeing and health. Research has shown loneliness increases the likelihood of early mortality (Holt-Lunstad et al., 2015) and poor physical health; it has also been shown to put individuals at greater risk of poor mental health including depression (Source: Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 2018).

Mental wellbeing is a facet of mental health that includes experiences of positive emotions, a person’s perception of themselves and their lives, and overall life satisfaction. Lower mental wellbeing is associated with poor physical health, higher morbidity (Source: GOV.uk, 2018) and lower life satisfaction.  

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) have developed a number of questions to measure loneliness.  

In 2024, the HSE included the direct measure of loneliness, which asks participants directly about their experience of loneliness: ‘How often do you feel lonely?’. Participants were asked to respond on a five-point scale, with categories ‘Never’, ‘Hardly ever’, ‘Occasionally’, ‘Some of the time’ and ‘Often or always’. This was included in the self-completion questionnaire. 

Chronic loneliness is defined as those who responded feeling lonely ‘Often or always’. 

The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS) is a 14-item scale that is designed to measure positive mental health, looking at factors like feelings, thoughts, and functioning. In 2024, the HSE used the full version of the scale (WEMWBS) as part of the self-completion questionnaire. This can be found within the Survey Documentation, available on the first page.  

WEMWBS has 14 items that mostly cover the functioning aspect of mental wellbeing. The items are scored on a Likert scale, from ‘None of the time (1)’, to ‘All of the time (5)’. All 14 items are worded positively, so higher WEMWBS scores indicate higher positive mental wellbeing. The lowest score possible is 14 and the highest score possible is 70. 

Participants were asked how often they felt lonely:  

• 29% of adults said that they never felt lonely 
• 29% said that they hardly ever felt lonely 
• 20% said they occasionally felt lonely 
• 15% said they felt lonely some of the time 
• 6% said they often or always felt lonely (chronic loneliness) 

Those who felt lonely some of the time and those who often or always felt lonely are collectively described in this report as feeling lonely at least some of the time (22% of adults).  

For more information: Table 1 

Younger adults were more likely than older adults to report feeling lonely at least some of the time. Prevalence decreased from 29% of those aged 16 to 24 to 15% of those aged 65 to 74. 18% among those aged 75 and over felt lonely at least some of the time.  

Chronic loneliness, defined as feeling lonely often or always, was lowest among those aged 16 to 24 (4%) and peaked among those aged 25 to 34 (9%). Prevalence of chronic loneliness was relatively stable across age groups among those aged 35 and over, fluctuating between 5% and 7%. 

Women (24%) were more likely than men (20%) to report that they felt lonely at least some of the time.   

Similar proportions of men (7%) and women (6%) experienced chronic loneliness.  

Estimates by region are shown in the tables as both observed and age-standardised.

After controlling for age, the proportion of adults who reported feeling lonely at least some of the time varied across regions: ranging from 17% in the East of England to 27% in the North East and 28% in the West Midlands. The prevalence of chronic loneliness was similar across regions.  

For more information: Table 2

The proportion of adults feeling lonely at least some of the time increased with level of area deprivation, from 17% in the least deprived quintile to 28% in the most deprived. 

Chronic loneliness also increased with level of area deprivation, with prevalence ranging from 4% in the least deprived quintile to 10% in the most deprived. 

For more information: Table 3 

For the HSE 2024, Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated using participants’ measured height and weight. More information on height and weight in HSE 2024 can be found in the HSE 2024 report on Overweight and obesity  

Different patterns of loneliness by BMI categories were observed for men and women. Among women, 29% who were living with obesity felt lonely at least some of the time, while this figure was 21% among women who were overweight, or a healthy weight or underweight. Among men, there was less variation by BMI category, with prevalence of feeling lonely at least some of the time fluctuating between 19% of those who were overweight, 20% of those who were living with obesity and 22% of those who were healthy weight or underweight.  

There were also different patterns in prevalence of chronic loneliness for men and women. Among women, chronic loneliness (often or always feeling lonely) was reported by: 

• 8% who were living with obesity 
• 6% of those who were overweight 
• 5% of those who were a healthy weight or underweight 

Among men, chronic loneliness (often or always feeling lonely) was reported by: 

• 8% of those who were living with obesity 
• 7% of those who were a healthy weight or underweight 
• 4% of those who were overweight   

For more information: Table 4

In HSE 2024, information on physical activity was collected using the Short-Form International Physical Activity Questionnaire ( IPAQ ). This questionnaire defines activity levels based on reported moderate or vigorous physical activity (MVPA):  

• meets recommendations: at least 150 minutes moderately intensive physical activity or 75 minutes vigorous activity per week, or an equivalent combination of these 
• some/low activity: 30 to 149 minutes moderately intensive activity or 15 to 74 minutes vigorous activity per week, or an equivalent combination of these 
• inactive: less than 30 minutes moderately intensive activity or less than 15 minutes vigorous activity per week, or an equivalent combination of these 

For more information see the HSE 2024 report on Adults’ health-related behaviour 

Feeling lonely varied by level of physical activity, with higher levels of physical activity associated with lower prevalence of self-reported loneliness. Among adults who were inactive, 28% felt lonely at least some of the time, falling to 19% among those who met the recommended levels of physical activity.  

There was a similar pattern for the prevalence of chronic loneliness, defined as often or always feeling lonely, with prevalence highest among those who were inactive (10%) and lowest among those who met physical activity recommendations (4%).  

For more information: Table 5

Participants were asked about their general health, with five answer categories ranging from ‘very good’ to ‘very bad’. For analysis the categories ‘very good’ and ‘good’ were grouped, as were the categories ‘bad’ and ‘very bad’.  

Feeling lonely at least some of the time was much more common among those with bad or very bad health (49%) than among those with good or very good health (17%). Similarly, prevalence of self-reported chronic loneliness was higher among those with bad or very bad health (27%) than among those with good or very good health (4%).  

The association between feeling lonely at least some of the time and self-reported general health was more pronounced for men than women. Among men, 55% of those with bad or very bad health felt lonely at least some of the time compared with 15% of those with good or very good health. Among women, the corresponding figures were 44% and 18% respectively.  

For more information: Table 6 

Participants were also asked whether they had any longstanding conditions, and whether these were limiting:  

• ‘do you have any physical or mental health conditions or illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more?’
• (if yes) ‘do any of your conditions or illnesses reduce your ability to carry out day-to-day activities?’ 

Adults who had one or more longstanding illnesses were more likely to feel lonely at least some of the time (30%) than those with no longstanding illnesses (16%). This proportion was higher among those whose longstanding illness limited their ability to carry out day-to-day activities (35%) than among those whose longstanding illness was not limiting their activities (22%).  

The pattern observed for chronic loneliness was similar, with prevalence highest among those with one or more limiting longstanding illnesses (14%) and lower among those who had one or more non-limiting illnesses (6%) or who had no longstanding illnesses (3%).  

For more information: Table 7

Participants were asked who lived in their household and were categorised based on whether they lived alone or with other people (adults or children).  

Adults living alone (38%) were more likely to report feeling lonely at least some of the time than those who lived with other adults or children (18%). This pattern was more prominent for men than for women. Among men, 46% who lived alone felt lonely at least some of the time compared with 15% of those living with others. By comparison, this was reported by 31% of women who lived alone and 21% of women who lived with other people. 

There was a similar pattern for chronic loneliness, defined as feeling lonely often or always. 14% of those who lived alone reported chronic loneliness compared with 5% of those who lived with other adults or children. Again, the association between living alone and feeling lonely at least some of the time was more pronounced among men than among women. 19% of men who lived alone were chronically lonely compared with 4% of men who lived with other people. Among women, the corresponding prevalence of chronic loneliness was 10% and 5%, respectively.  

For more information: Table 8 

In 2024, the mean wellbeing score of adults in England based on WEMWBS was 50.5. 

At an overall level, mean wellbeing scores were similar for men and women (50.7 and 50.4 respectively).  

Wellbeing varied with age, with the lowest mean scores among those aged 16 to 24 (48.8) and the highest among those aged 65 and over (52.6). The pattern by age differed for men and women. Among men, the scores were lowest among those aged 25 to 54 (between 49.9 and 50.1). Among women, the scores were lowest among those aged 16 to 24 (47.0), and higher thereafter.  

For more information: Table 9 

Estimates by region are shown in the tables as both observed and age-standardised. 

After controlling for age, wellbeing scores were similar across regions.  

For more information: Table 10  

Mean wellbeing scores varied by level of area deprivation, with higher scores among those in the less deprived areas. While adults in the least deprived areas had a mean wellbeing score of 52.2, those in the most deprived areas had a mean score of 48.0.  

For more information: Table 11

For the HSE 2024, Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated using participants’ measured height and weight. More information on height and weight in HSE 2024 can be found in the HSE 2024 report on Overweight and obesity 

Living with obesity was associated with lower mean wellbeing scores. However, the pattern of association between BMI and wellbeing scores was different for men and women.  

Among men, the mean wellbeing score was highest among those who were overweight (51.5), and lowest among men living with obesity (49.9). Among women, the mean wellbeing score was similar among those who were healthy weight or underweight (51.5) and those who were overweight (51.4) but lower among those living with obesity (48.6).  

For more information: Table 12  

In HSE 2024, information on physical activity was collected using the Short-Form International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). This questionnaire defines activity levels based on reported moderate or vigorous physical activity (MVPA):  

• meets recommendations: at least 150 minutes moderately intensive physical activity or 75 minutes vigorous activity per week, or an equivalent combination of these 
• some/low activity: 30 to 149 minutes moderately intensive activity or 15 to 74 minutes vigorous activity per week, or an equivalent combination of these 
• inactive: less than 30 minutes moderately intensive activity or less than 15 minutes vigorous activity per week, or an equivalent combination of these 

For more information see the HSE 2024 report on Adults’ health-related behaviours

Higher levels of physical activity were associated with higher wellbeing scores. Among those who met physical activity recommendations, mean wellbeing scores were 52.4. This compared with 49.8 among those who did some or low levels of activity and 46.8 among those classified as inactive.  

For more information: Table 13 

Participants were asked about their general health, with five answer categories ranging from ‘very good’ to ‘very bad’. For analysis, the categories ‘very good’ and ‘good’ were grouped, as were the categories ‘bad’ and ‘very bad’.  

Mean wellbeing scores varied by self-reported general health, with a higher mean score (53.0) among those in very good or good health than among those in bad or very bad health (37.5).  

For more information: Table 14  

Adults who reported feeling lonely more frequently had lower wellbeing scores than those who were lonely less often. Those who never felt lonely had a mean wellbeing score of 56.3. This decreased to 36.5 among those who reported often or always feeling lonely.  

For more information: Table 15

Participants were asked who lived in their household and were categorised based on whether they lived alone or with other people (adults or children).   

Adults who lived alone had lower mean wellbeing scores (48.3) than adults who lived with others (51.0).  

For more information: Table 16