American Journal of Epidemiology Vol. 126, No. 4: 714-723
Copyright © 1987 by The Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health
research-article |
SOCIAL NETWORK TIES AND MORTALITY AMONG TILE ELDERLY IN THE ALAMEDA COUNTY STUDY
1Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, Yale University 60 College St, New Haven, CT 06510.
2Human Population Laboratory, California Department of Health Services , Berkeley, CA.
3National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD.
1Reprint requests to Dr. Teresa K Seeman.
Seeman, T. E. (Dept of Epidemiology and Public Health, School of Medicine, Yale U., New Haven, CT 06510), G. A. Kaplan, L Knudsen, R. Cohen, and J. Quratnik. Social network ties and mortality among the ekterty in the Alameda County Study. Am J Epidemiol 1987; 126:714–23.
Seventeen-year mortality data from the Alameda County Study are used to examine the relative importance of social ties as predictors of survival at different ages, ranging from 38–94 years at baseline. Previous analyses of Alameda County data by Berkman and Syme (Am J Epidemiol 1979;109:186–204) have shown that such ties are significant predictors of lower nine-year mortality risk for persons aged less than 70 years at baseline. Proportional hazard analyses indicate that social ties are also significant predictors of lower 17-year mortality risks for those aged 70 and older after adjusting for age, sex, race, baseline health status, perceived health, depression, and health practices (relative hazard = 1.49 for Berkman-Syme Social Network index 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.09–2.05). Comparisons of the relative importance of four types of social ties reveal an interesting shift across the age groups. Marital status assumes primary importance for those aged less than 60 years at baselIne (relative hazard = 1.6 and 1.4 for those aged 38–49 and 50–59, respectively 95% Cl = 1.12–2.29 and 1.02–1.91, respectively). However, ties with close friends and/or relatives assume greater importance for those aged 60 and older (relative hazard = 1.17 comparing those reporting five or more contacts per month to the more socially isolated who report less than five such contacts per month; 95% Cl = 0.98–1.89).
calcium; caloric intake; diet; wpidemiologic methods; vitamin A; vitamin C
This research was supported by Grant AG 04610 from the National Institute on Aging, NIH. Dr. Seeman was also partially supported by the Mac-Arthur Program on Successful Aging
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