Charity: Spend time with those living alone

THE public has been urged to spend time with older neighbours who might otherwise be on their own for Christmas.

ALONE, the charity for older people, said the effects of isolation can be wide-ranging and can be detrimental to the person’s physical and psychological welfare.

It said the WHO rates loneliness as a higher risk than smoking, with researchers linking a lack of social interaction with degenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s.