Social Factors and Health: a Twin Study
Project
|Updated
We explore the genetic and environmental sources of covariance underlying the relationships between diverse types of social factors and their association with health outcomes.
Summary
Humans are fundamentally social beings. Our brains evolved to form and sustain social relationships, and our social worlds significantly impact well-being throughout life. This is supported by a large epidemiological literature documenting that social worlds have significant and far-reaching effects on human physical and psychological health throughout life. A high level of social integration and engagement is associated with improved growth and development in children, lower biological risk profiles in adults reduced risks for cognitive and physical decline, greater resilience for a host of somatic diseases, lower risks for disease and disability, and greater longevity. These effects are sizeable and confer as great a risk to health and mortality as do the most important known risk factors such as smoking, obesity, high blood pressure and sedentary lifestyle. Qualitative aspects of relationships are also consequential (e.g., greater frequency of perceived social conflict being associated with poorer biological risk profiles. Experimental data complement these findings and demonstrate that being in socially supportive relationships buffers against illness and improves resilience to physical and emotional stress. Perceived stress has also been linked to higher risks for a range of major health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease, clinical depression, autoimmune disease, HIV/AIDS and respiratory infections. We explore the genetic and environmental sources of covariance underlying the relationships between diverse types of social factors and their association with health outcomes. This study leverages unique features of the twin design that control for fundamental sources of familial (genetic and shared environmental) confounding.
Project leader
Jennifer Ruth Harris, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Project participants
Vegard Fykse Skirbekk, Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Megan Todd, Columbia University in the City of New York
Gun Peggy Strømstad Knudsen, Health Data and Digitalisation, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Johanna Lucia Thorbjørnsrud Nader, Genetics and Bioinformatics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Julia Kutschke, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Thomas Sevenius Nilsen, Health Studies, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Ingrid Helene Garmann Østensen, Genetics and Bioinformatics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Astanand Jugessur, Genetics and Bioinformatics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Ingunn Brandt, Health Studies, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Øyvind Erik Næss, Physical Health and Ageing, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Start
01.03.2014
End
31.12.2026
Status
Active
Approvals
Regional committees for medical and health research ethics
Project owner/ Project manager
Norwegian Institute of Public Health