The two-part series “Living Lonely” takes on the seldom-examined public health problem of loneliness. The first piece, “Solo in their twilight years” tells the stories of Audrey Brennan and Angeline Tesch, two elderly women living in the same apartment complex south of Milwaukee, suffering from a condition considered to be as harmful to human health as smoking: loneliness. The story explains how prevalent loneliness is among America’s elderly, afflicting approximately 35 percent, and why it is so harmful. In study after study, loneliness has been found to shorten lives and increase the risk of a host of illnesses including Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure, alcoholism, depression, poor sleep, stress and suicide. One study found that while pollution increases the risk of an early death by 5 percent, obesity by 20 percent and alcohol abuse by 30 percent, loneliness raises the risk 45 percent – on par with smoking.
The second piece, “Love endures as memory fades,” tackles the loneliness that can afflict men and women who still have their spouses, but have become caregivers for them because of Alzheimer’s disease. Few studies have examined loneliness in this population but those that have reveal higher rates of loneliness among Alzheimer’s caregivers. The story follows the former governor of Wisconsin, the last man one would have expected to become lonely. Martin Schreiber’s descent into loneliness began when his wife was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
The series also includes two short sidebars: one on an elderly woman who has managed to avoid the curse of loneliness; the other on various Milwaukee-area programs that have been designed to combat the problem of loneliness.