Why Loneliness is the New Public Health Crisis
Loneliness is more than just a feeling—it’s a growing public health crisis with serious mental and physical consequences. In this episode of The Vitals, host Leslie Schlachter, PA-C, sits down with Mount Sinai experts to explore the science of loneliness, its effects across age groups, and what can be done about it.
Featuring:
- Dr. Fernando Carnavali, Associate Professor of Medicine and Internal Medicine Physician
- Dr. Lea Marin, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
- Dr. Shawn Rhoads, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
Together, they discuss how loneliness affects the brain, the body, and society—and what clinicians and communities can do to help. From technology’s double-edged role to practical interventions for patients, this wide-ranging conversation is essential viewing for anyone invested in health and connection.
Leslie Schlachter: [00:00:04:02] Hi. Welcome to the Vitals, Mount Sinai Health System's newest video podcast. I'm your host, Leslie Schachter, a neurosurgery physician assistant here at Mount Sinai Hospital. Today we're talking about loneliness. What is loneliness? What causes loneliness? And how can we treat loneliness? Turns out people don't usually make appointments because they're feeling lonely. They might call and speak to a lot of doctor's offices because they're lonely.
But it's kind of a difficult diagnosis. But we do have specialists that can help diagnose loneliness and treat people appropriately. So we have three guests with us today. First, I'd like to welcome Doctor Fernando Carnevale, associate professor and internal medicine doctor Sean Rhodes, assistant professor of psychiatry and neuroscience, and Doctor Leah Marin, assistant professor of psychiatry. Let's thank you so much for being here.
Fernando Carnavali: Pleasure.
Leslie Schlachter: So did I intro that the right way? Nobody's really calling and saying, hey, I'm lonely. Can I come in for a consult? Right.
Fernando Carnavali: Yes. You're right.
Leslie Schlachter: Yeah, but.
Fernando Carnavali: That's not happen.
Leslie Schachter: It's masked in other things. Correct. Yeah. So we'll get to talking about that today.