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8 Do Cross-Country Variations in Social Integration and Social Interactions Explain Differences in Life Expectancy in Industrialized Countries?--James Banks, Lisa Berkman, and James P. Smith with Mauricio Avendano and Maria Glymour
Pages 217-256

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From page 217... ... Extensive research suggests that aspects of social networks and social integration may be asso ciated with mortality in a number of countries (Berkman and Syme, 1979; Berkman et al., 2004; Blazer, 1982; Fuhrer and Stansfeld, 2002; Fuhrer et al., 1999; House, Robbins, and Metzner, 1982; Kaplan et al., 1988; Khang and Kim, 2005; Orth-Gomer and Johnson, 1987; Orth-Gomer, Rosengren, and Wilhelmsen, 1993; Orth-Gomer, Unden, and Edwards, 1988; Orth-Gomer et al., 1998; Penninx et al., 1998; Sugisawa, Liang, and Liu, 1994; Welin et al., 1985) Read the entire page →
From page 218... ... . Although not identical, these surveys have very comparable measurements of social networks and social support, as well as comparable data on health conditions and associated risks. Read the entire page →
From page 219... ... We concentrate on the United States and England because the most comparable, comprehensive data on social networks and social support are available for them. A recent study (Banks et al., 2006) Read the entire page →
From page 220... ... Measures of Social Networks, Social Support, and Negative Interactions Measures of the size of social networks and various forms of social participation and quality of social support available to individuals were measured in both surveys using almost identical questionnaires. One key advantage of using these two surveys is that their comparable questions cover many key domains of the social network. Read the entire page →
From page 221... ... Respondents were also asked the same set of questions about positive and negative interactions, frequency of contact, and the number of close relationships they have with other immediate family members, defined as siblings, parents, cousins, or grandchildren. Friends are also a potentially important component of any support network. Read the entire page →
From page 222... ... Although we examined each social network domain individually, in this section we provide tables or figures on summary measures related only to the social network index, the summary measure, and positive and negative social interactions. We describe social networks in England and the United States for spouses, children, other immediate family members, and friends. Read the entire page →
From page 223... ... Fig8-1A.eps index of social networks for men and women in HRS and ELSA. For both men and women, the largest numbers of people scored in the mid-range, between 6 and 9, and this concentration of scores is almost identical in England and the United States. Read the entire page →
From page 224... ... TABLE 8-1 Distributions of Social Networks in England and the United States England USA Age Group England USA Male Female Male Female Percentage with Spouse/Partner 50-64 81.3 76.0 85.0 78.7 83.0 71.2 65-74 70.0 75.7 79.9 60.8 85.8 67.8 75 plus 47.6 55.1 65.8 32.1 77.1 39.0 Total 71.9 72.2 79.6 63.4 83.0 64.4 Percentage with Children 50-64 87.2 85.5 84.5 89.4 83.3 87.0 65-74 86.9 90.1 86.5 87.3 88.9 91.0 75 plus 81.0 83.2 82.3 80.1 85.2 81.8 Total 85.9 86.7 84.7 86.9 85.8 87.5 Percentage with Friends 50-64 94.0 89.4 93.0 94.8 88.9 89.8 65-74 90.0 90.3 87.7 91.9 88.9 91.3 75 plus 85.1 88.3 81.7 87.5 85.6 90.3 Total 91.2 85.9 89.5 92.6 88.3 90.4 SOURCES: Authors' calculations from the Health and Retirement Study (2004) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2004) Read the entire page →
From page 225... ... Relationship Between Social Networks, Positive and Negative Interactions, and Five Health Outcomes Previous evidence suggests that U.S. men and women have higher prevalence of many chronic diseases than their English counterparts (Banks et al., 2006) Read the entire page →
From page 226... ... graduated fills SOURCES: Authors' calculations from the Health and Retirement Study (2004) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2004) Read the entire page →
From page 227... ... as well as associations with interactions with children, friends, and relatives. In this section, we present cross-sectional associations between summary measures of social ties, negative interactions, and partnership in relation Read the entire page →
From page 228... ... HRS ELSA Variable Mean STD Mean STD Diabetes 0.20 0.40 0.07 0.26 Hypertension 0.57 0.50 0.44 0.50 Heart 0.23 0.42 0.16 0.36 HbA1c > 6.5% 0.22 0.42 0.09 0.28 SBP ≥ 140 or DBP ≥ 90 or on medication 0.69 0.46 0.60 0.49 Obesity 0.38 0.49 0.29 0.45 Peak flow 341.26 129.40 371.80 143.04 BMI 29.07 5.49 27.89 4.79 NOTES: BMI = body mass index, DBP = diastolic blood pressure, ELSA = English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, HRS = Health and Retirement Survey, SBP = systolic blood pressure. SOURCES: Authors' calculations from the Health and Retirement Study (2004) Read the entire page →
From page 229... ... Females HRS Obesit y Females ELSA Biomarker for Hypertension Biomarker for Diabetes Hear t Hypertension Diabetes 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.98 0.99 1 1.01 1.02 1.03 FIGURE 8-3B Odds ratios of disease prevalence for a one-point increase in the social network index for women. SOURCES: Authors' calculations from the Health and Retirement Study (2004) Read the entire page →
From page 230... ... SOURCES: Authors' calculations from the Health and Retirement Study (2004) and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2004) Read the entire page →
From page 231... ... and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (2004) microdata. Read the entire page →
From page 232... ... In each case, the 95 percent confidence intervals for the estimated coefficients of social network variables for the United States overlap with the confidence intervals in England. The current results do not therefore support the hypothesis that differences in the toxicity of current levels of social networks and integration explain current health differences between the two countries. Read the entire page →
From page 233... ... SOCIAL NETWORKS AND MORTALITY In this section, we present our analysis of mortality in England and the United States using ELSA and HRS. Our models focus on effects of some basic social network and interaction variables in the two countries. Read the entire page →
From page 234... ... * 0.045 0.006 0.006 0.000 Negative interactions 1.008 1.009 1.008 1.008 0.274 0.255 0.268 0.256 Index 0.956* Read the entire page →
From page 235... ... p < 0.01. SOURCE: Authors' calculations from English Longitudinal Study of Ageing microdata. Read the entire page →
From page 236... ... 0.992 0.988 0.099 0.025 0.365 0.193 Negative interactions 1.008 1.008 1.008 1.008 0.438 0.434 0.508 0.480 Index 0.977 0.936* 0.317 0.011 Frequency of meeting: Children 1.062 0.966 0.248 0.535 Friends 1.072 0.952 0.201 0.408 Other family 0.965 1.008 0.518 0.900 Read the entire page →
From page 237... ... In an alternative specification, the last three variables are also aggregated into a single measure of social interactions that we label the "index," which is equivalent to the index of social networks used in previous sections. Consider first estimates that include measures of positive and negative social support and the index. Read the entire page →
From page 238... ... was not statistically significantly associated with mortality. This analysis demonstrates that it is essential to disaggregate club membership social network variables before drawing any conclusions about their potential health impacts. Read the entire page →
From page 239... ... * 0.028 0.022 0.039 0.030 Wealth 4 1.522 1.545 1.404 1.412 0.209 0.194 0.227 0.220 Positive support 1.031 1.032 1.020 1.020 0.044 0.043 0.120 0.120 Negative interactions 1.025 1.024 1.014 1.012 0.156 0.189 0.356 0.398 Index 0.959 0.984 0.318 0.662 Frequency of meeting: Children 1.060 1.033 0.500 0.668 Family 0.840 0.901 0.081 0.217 continued Read the entire page →
From page 240... ... quintiles, positive support and negative interactions, having a partner, and frequency of meeting with children, family, or friends. The main difference in social network domain concerns the membership variables. Read the entire page →
From page 241... ... * 1.044 0.393 0.361 0.049 0.055 Negative interactions 1.039 1.037 1.011 1.007 0.134 0.148 0.677 0.775 Index 0.972 0.954 0.669 0.398 Frequency of meeting: Children 1.033 1.078 0.812 0.517 Family 0.930 0.790 0.646 0.076 Friends 0.936 1.024 0.642 0.849 Number of meetings 0.995 0.995 0.996 0.995 continued Read the entire page →
From page 242... ... Turning to social support variables for the U.S. sample, the evidence indicates that negative interactions had no statistically significant effect on subsequent mortality. Read the entire page →
From page 243... ... To explore the hypothesis that variations in social networks and interactions might explain cross-country variations in life expectancy in industrialized countries, we examined variations in social ties and life expectancy Read the entire page →
From page 244... ... data on life expectancy at birth. These analyses are not meant to be conclusive and aim only to broaden the research agenda by illustrating the potential to use cross-country variations in social networks to understand their role in explaining health variations among populations. Read the entire page →
From page 245... ... United States (2007) 0.51 0.46 -- 0.43 80.4 SOURCE: Authors' calculations from Gallup World Survey (2006-2007) Read the entire page →
From page 246... ... United States (2007) 0.58 0.46 -- 0.43 75.5 SOURCE: Authors' calculations from Gallup World Survey (2006-2007) Read the entire page →
From page 247... ... or in the results shown in Table 8-9.4 This analysis indicates large variability across these countries both in life expectancy and aggregate levels and distribution of social integration and social ties and participation. While our results indicate that some measures of social integration might be correlated with life expectancy, aggregated Gallup data for these industrialized countries by themselves were not able to distinguish sufficiently among alternative measures of social integration, even without placing into these models other relevant health behaviors on which countries differ. Read the entire page →
From page 248... ... SOURCE: Authors' calculations from the Gallup World Survey (2006-2007) Read the entire page →
From page 249... ... SOURCE: Authors' calculations from the Gallup World Survey (2006-2007) Read the entire page →
From page 250... ... SOURCE: Authors' calculations from the Gallup World Survey (2006-2007) Read the entire page →
From page 251... ... SOURCE: Authors' calculations from the Gallup World Survey (2006-2007) Read the entire page →
From page 252... ... First, observed differences in social networks and support between these two countries are small. Second, we found weak and inconsistent effects of the social network and support variables on the health outcomes we considered, with few associations reaching conventional levels of statistical significance. Read the entire page →
From page 253... ... Our analysis of England and the United States might not reveal the full potential contribution of social networks and social support to health differences across a broader set of countries. In exploring whether social networks might account for cross-country differences, priority should therefore be given to harmonizing data across countries that allow us to test this hypothesis in a broader international context. Read the entire page →
From page 254... ... Additional investigations, perhaps including the use of vignettes, are needed in order to evaluate heterogeneity in reporting styles and, if such heterogeneity exists, to identify true differences in the distribution of social networks and support among countries. A final set of issues relates to the fact that our analysis has been predominantly cross-sectional in nature, out of necessity given the availability of comparable data. Read the entire page →
From page 255... ... . Social integration, social networks, social support, and health. Read the entire page →
From page 256... ... . Social networks, social support, and mortality among older people in Japan. Read the entire page →

From page 217...

... Extensive research suggests that aspects of social networks and social integration may be asso ciated with mortality in a number of countries (Berkman and Syme, 1979; Berkman et al., 2004; Blazer, 1982; Fuhrer and Stansfeld, 2002; Fuhrer et al., 1999; House, Robbins, and Metzner, 1982; Kaplan et al., 1988; Khang and Kim, 2005; Orth-Gomer and Johnson, 1987; Orth-Gomer, Rosengren, and Wilhelmsen, 1993; Orth-Gomer, Unden, and Edwards, 1988; Orth-Gomer et al., 1998; Penninx et al., 1998; Sugisawa, Liang, and Liu, 1994; Welin et al., 1985)

8 Do Cross-Country Variations in Social Integration and Social Interactions Explain Differences in Life Expectancy in Industrialized Countries?--James Banks, Lisa Berkman, and James P. Smith with Mauricio Avendano and Maria Glymour Pages 217-256

8 Do Cross-Country Variations in Social Integration and Social Interactions Explain Differences in Life Expectancy in Industrialized Countries?--James Banks, Lisa Berkman, and James P. Smith with Mauricio Avendano and Maria Glymour
Pages 217-256