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Low Perceived Neighborhood Safety as a Social Determinant of Loneliness: Findings From the 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System
Journal article   Peer reviewed

Low Perceived Neighborhood Safety as a Social Determinant of Loneliness: Findings From the 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System

Yi-Fang Lu, Byunggu Kang and Kiseong Kuen
American journal of public health (1971), p.e1
09/03/2026
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2026.308677
PMID: 42691444

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Abstract

To assess the association between low perceived neighborhood safety and loneliness. We used data from the Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity module of the 2024 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The sample included 317 320 respondents from 35 US states. Using logistic regression, we estimated the association between low perceived neighborhood safety and feelings of loneliness after adjustment for demographic characteristics, social support, living alone, diagnosis of depressive disorder, urbanicity, and state of residence. The findings showed that low perceived neighborhood safety is associated with higher odds of loneliness. In comparison with adults who felt extremely safe in their neighborhoods, the adjusted odds ratios for feeling lonely were 1.06 among those who felt safe (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.96, 1.16), 1.38 among those who felt unsafe (95% CI = 1.17, 1.62), and 1.68 among those who felt extremely unsafe (95% CI = 1.24, 2.27). Low perceived neighborhood safety is a key place-based correlate of loneliness. Improving neighborhood safety may represent an important, and potentially overlooked, pathway through which place-based conditions contribute to loneliness and related health risks. ( . Published online ahead of print September 3, 2026:e1-e4. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2026.308677).

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