In this article, Berkman and Glass (2000) briefly summarize the history and foundations of social epidemiology, discussing the interdisciplinary contributions that experts in the fields of sociology, psychoanalysis, anthropology, and epidemiology all have made to develop the field of social epidemiology, itself. It then moves into a discussion of the social network theory and how it relates to health behaviors, individual health, health outcomes, morbidity, and mortality.
The article began with a discussion about the contributions of sociologist Emile Durkheim and his work in the 19th century on social integration and suicide. Emile Durkheim observed that suicide rates remained constant in a given social community, making a strong argument …show more content…
An interesting distinction that the article makes in evaluating the physiological effects of social networks on health outcomes is that while integration in a social network may not necessarily delay or prohibit all forms of disease, social support is essential to better recovery and overall health outcomes across many different illnesses. Examples given are cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, and stroke. This section also delves into the myriad of physiologic observations related to social ties as tested through many social epidemiologic studies, looking at the stress hormone levels of various participants, both animal and human and how they vary in socially integrated situations versus socially isolated ones. The body of evidence produced from this combination of tests is highly supportive of the overall health promoting benefits of social integration (Berkman & Glass, …show more content…
These two theories moved away from looking at individual characteristics or factors that influence health to a system wide approach. The implications of this are great – the field of social epidemiology itself is concerned with the means by which health and disease are influenced by social factors, about which there is still much mystery – the social network theory gives tremendous insight to this in providing the framework for which social epidemiology is conducted and constructed, and how it can impact public health at large (Honjo,
The article began with a discussion about the contributions of sociologist Emile Durkheim and his work in the 19th century on social integration and suicide. Emile Durkheim observed that suicide rates remained constant in a given social community, making a strong argument …show more content…
An interesting distinction that the article makes in evaluating the physiological effects of social networks on health outcomes is that while integration in a social network may not necessarily delay or prohibit all forms of disease, social support is essential to better recovery and overall health outcomes across many different illnesses. Examples given are cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, and stroke. This section also delves into the myriad of physiologic observations related to social ties as tested through many social epidemiologic studies, looking at the stress hormone levels of various participants, both animal and human and how they vary in socially integrated situations versus socially isolated ones. The body of evidence produced from this combination of tests is highly supportive of the overall health promoting benefits of social integration (Berkman & Glass, …show more content…
These two theories moved away from looking at individual characteristics or factors that influence health to a system wide approach. The implications of this are great – the field of social epidemiology itself is concerned with the means by which health and disease are influenced by social factors, about which there is still much mystery – the social network theory gives tremendous insight to this in providing the framework for which social epidemiology is conducted and constructed, and how it can impact public health at large (Honjo,