A charity has called for people to take small steps to alleviate the "epidemic of loneliness" among elderly people.
A survey for the WRVS found a quarter of those aged 75 who lived alone described themselves as being lonely.
Five per cent said they could go for days at a time without speaking to another person.
Almost one in five Scots surveyed said they were unable to leave their home because of poor health.
The WRVS is hosting a special conference in the Scottish Parliament on Friday to highlight the problem.
Margaret Paterson, head of WRVS services in Scotland, said helping older people "in small ways" could be key.
The WRVS has been pioneering ways of providing food services to senior citizens, with the charity's Clydesdale branch organising a monthly lunch in a local pub.
It developed the service in response to a demand from older people who wanted to go for a pub lunch but had no-one to go with.
Ms Paterson said: "Sadly, extreme loneliness, experienced by thousands of older people in Scotland every day, often goes unnoticed for too long. The consequences then are a lot more serious than they need to have been."
