Person-to-Person Spread of Health Behaviors in a Large Social Network |
|
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Launch in standalone player | |
| Air date: | Thursday, March 20, 2008, 3:00:00 PM |
| Category: | BSSR Lecture Series |
| Runtime: | 60 minutes |
| NLM Title: | Person-to-person spread of health behaviors in a large social network [electronic resource] / Nicholas A. Christakis. |
| Series: | BSSR lecture series |
| Author: | Christakis, Nicholas A. National Institutes of Health (U.S.). Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research. |
| Publisher: | [Bethesda, Md. : National Institutes of Health, 2008] |
| Other Title(s): | BSSR lecture series |
| Abstract: | (CIT): BSSR Lecture Series This lecture is an installment of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Lecture Series sponsored by the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research and organized by the NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Coordinating Committee. Our work has involved the quantitative investigation of whether and how various health-related phenomena might spread from person to person. For example, we explored the nature and extent of person-to-person spread of obesity. We developed a densely interconnected network of 12,067 people assessed repeatedly from 1971 to 2003. We used longitudinal statistical models and network-scientific methods to examine whether weight gain in one person was associated with weight gain in friends, siblings, spouses, and neighbors. Discernible clusters of obese persons were present in the network at all time points, and the clusters extended three people deep. These clusters were not solely due to selective formation of social ties. A friend becoming obese in a given time interval increased a person's chances of becoming obese by 57% (95% CI: 6%-123%). Among pairs of adult siblings, one becoming obese increased the chance that the other became obese by 40% (21%-60%). Among spouses, one becoming obese increased the likelihood that the other became obese by 37% (7%-73%). Among those working in small firms, a co-worker becoming obese increased a person's chances of becoming obese. Immediate neighbors did not exhibit these effects. We have also conducted similar investigations of other health behaviors, such as smoking, drinking, exercising, and the receipt of health screening, and of other health phenomena, such as happiness and depression. Various aspects of our findings suggest that the spread of social norms may partly underlie inter-personal health effects. Our findings have implications for clinical and public health interventions, and for cost-effectiveness assessments of preventive and therapeutic interventions. They also lay a new foundation for public health by providing a rationale for the claim that health is not just an individual, but also a collective, phenomenon. Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, MPH, is an internist and social scientist who conducts research on social factors that affect health, health care, and longevity. He is a Professor of Medical Sociology in the Department of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School; Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology in the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences; and an Attending Physician in the Department of Medicine at the Harvard-affiliated Mt. Auburn Hospital. He was elected to the Institute of Medicine, National Academy of Sciences, in the USA in 2006. Formerly at the University of Chicago, his past work centered on the study of end-of-life care (e.g., his 1999 book, Death Foretold: Prophecy and Prognosis in Medical Care). Currently, he is principally concerned with health and social networks. Some recent work has focused on the health benefits of marriage and on how ill health or death in one spouse can affect the other spouse. Other work has involved the application of network science, econometric methods, and mathematical modeling to understanding the health-related dynamics of complex, longitudinally evolving social networks. |
| Subjects: | Behavioral Research Health Behavior Life Style Longitudinal Studies Social Behavior Social Environment |
| Publication Types: | Government Publications Lectures |
| Download: | Download
Video How to download a Videocast |
| NLM Classification: | W 85 |
| NLM ID: | 101470368 |
| CIT File ID: | 14379 |
| CIT Live ID: | 6665 |
| Permanent link: | http://videocast.nih.gov/launch.asp?14379 |