Over 55s in East Midlands are '˜least lonely in the UK' according to new report

Retirment housebuilder McCarthy & Stone carried out the level of lonliness amongst its residents and found wide regional variations.

The East Midlands emerged as one of the least lonely regions in the UK, with 76 per cent of over 55s stating they had socialised frequently over the last year.

In contrast, London is highlighted as the UK’s loneliest region, with four out of five (87 per cent) Londoners aged 55 and over admitting to often feeling lonely.

The East Midlands reported consistently highly for socialising, with 39 per cent stating they had access to age-appropriate social events in the local area and 51 per cent felt a strong sense of community in their neighbourhood, suggesting local communities and neighbours may play a larger role in encouraging socialising than family and friends.

The report, Building Companionship: how better design can combat loneliness in later life, has been compiled by cross-party think tank Demos and commissioned by McCarthy and Stone to better understand how loneliness amongst older people can be tackled.

The report highlighted evidence showing how loneliness can have a declining effect on a person’s health, with people who say they feel lonely more likely to suffer from high blood pressure and depression, and are more than twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease in later life in comparison to those with stronger social relationships.