{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,7]],"date-time":"2026-10-07T06:56:37Z","timestamp":1791356197321,"version":"4.3.1"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"Korean Society for Preventive Medicine","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,4]],"date-time":"2025-03-04T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741046400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003625","name":"Ministry of Health and Welfare","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003625","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["jpmph.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["JPMPH"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,31]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Objectives: Lonely death is defined as \u201ca person living in a state of social isolation, disconnected from family, relatives, and others, who dies from suicide, illness, or other causes\u201d. This study investigated the characteristics of individuals who die alone in Korea.Methods: We constructed a database of lonely death cases by linking data from the Korea Crime Scene Investigation Unit of the Korea National Police Agency with National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) records. A descriptive analysis was performed to evaluate the demographics, underlying diseases, and healthcare utilization patterns among lonely death cases.Results: Among the 3122 individuals identified as lonely death cases, 2621 (84.0%) were male and 501 (16.0%) were female. The most common age group was 50-59 years (n=930, 29.8%). The NHIS covered 2161 individuals (69.2%), whereas 961 individuals (30.8%) were enrolled in Medical Aid (MA). The highest number of lonely deaths occurred in Seoul areas, with 1468 cases (47.0%). Mood disorders were diagnosed in 1020 individuals (32.7%), and various alcohol-related diseases, including alcoholic liver disease, were also observed. Outpatient visits increased leading up to death but declined in the final 3 months, while hospitalizations decreased and emergency room visits slightly increased.Conclusions: Most lonely death cases involved male in their 50s, with a disproportionately high number of MA beneficiaries compared to the general population. Many of these individuals also experienced mental health issues or alcohol-related disorders. Preventing social isolation and strengthening social safety nets are critical to reducing the occurrence of lonely deaths.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3961\/jpmph.24.704","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,4]],"date-time":"2025-03-04T05:05:12Z","timestamp":1741064712000},"page":"218-226","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3961\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":5,"title":["Who Dies Alone? 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