The Association of Social Connectivity and Body Weight With the Onset of Type 2 Diabetes

OBJECTIVE: Low levels of social connectivity are related to the onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2D), and this study investigates the role of body weight in this association. METHODS: In a sample of 9448 participants followed for a mean of 15.3 years (186,158.5 person-years) from the Monitoring of Trends and Determinants in Cardiovascular Disease Augsburg/Cooperative Health Research in the Region of Augsburg population-based cohort conducted in Germany, we investigated the association of social connectivity, measured by the Social Network Index, and body mass index (BMI) with the risk of clinically validated T2D incidence using stratified Cox proportional hazards regression models adjusted for sociodemographic, life-style, cardiometabolic, and psychosocial risk factors. RESULTS: During a mean follow-up of 14.1 years (186,158.5 person-years), 975 (10.3%) participants developed T2D. Participants with low social connectivity developed T2D at a higher rate than socially connected participants (10.0 versus 8.0 cases/10,000 person-years); however, BMI played a significant role in the association of social connectivity with T2D ( p < .001). In comparison to their socially connected counterparts, low social connectivity was associated with a higher rate of T2D incidence in normal-weight (6.0 versus 2.0 cases/10,000 person-years), but not overweight (13.0 versus 13.0 cases/10,000 person-years) or obese participants (32.0 versus 30.0 cases/10,000 person-years). Correspondingly, Cox regression analysis showed that 5-unit increments in BMI increased the risk of T2D in socially connected participants (hazard ratio = 3.03, 95% confidence interval = 2.48-3.79, p < .001) at a substantially higher rate than in low socially connected participants (hazard ratio = 1.77, 95% confidence interval = 1.45-2.16, p < .001). CONCLUSION: The detrimental link between low social connectivity and increased risk of T2D is substantially stronger in participants with a lower BMI

Body mass index · Cohort · Cohort study · Diabetes mellitus · Environmental health · Obesity · Overweight · Population · Proportional hazards model · Prospective cohort study · Psychiatry · Psychosocial · Type 2 diabetes · Chronic Disease Management Strategies · Demography · Endocrinology · Health disparities and outcomes · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Mental Health Research Topics · Psychology · Gerontology

• Network threats to causal inference

  Open Access•C Mcmillan, Mark C Pachucki et al.•Social Networks•2026

  Incluir item

• How and why weight stigma drives the obesity ‘epidemic’ and harms health

  Open Access•A Janet Tomiyama, Deborah Carr et al.•BMC Medicine•2018

  Incluir item

• The Neuroendocrinology of Social Isolation

  John T Cacioppo, Stephanie Cacioppo et al.•Annual Review of Psychology•2015

  Incluir item

• The Somatic Symptom Scale–8 (SSS-8)

  Benjamin Gierk, Sebastian Kohlmann et al.•JAMA Internal Medicine•2014

  Incluir item

• Dynamic spread of happiness in a large social network

  Open Access•J H Fowler, Nicholas A Christakis•BMJ•2008

  Incluir item

• Depression and Type 2 Diabetes Over the Lifespan

  Open Access•Briana Mezuk, W W Eaton et al.•Diabetes Care•2008

  Incluir item

• Recommendations for presenting analyses of effect modification and interaction

  Mirjam J Knol, Tyler J Vanderweele•International Journal of…•2012

  Incluir item

• Loneliness and social isolation as risk factors for coronary heart disease and stroke

  Nicole Valtorta, Mona Kanaan et al.•Heart•2016

  Incluir item

• Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE)

  Open Access•Jan P Vandenbroucke, Erik Von Elm et al.•International Journal of Surgery•2014

  Incluir item

• The Potential Public Health Relevance of Social Isolation and Loneliness

  Julianne Holt-Lunstad•Public Policy & Aging Report•2017

  Incluir item

• Loneliness, Social Isolation, and Cardiovascular Health

  Open Access•Ning Xia, Huige Li•Antioxidants & Redox Signaling•2018

  Incluir item

• The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years

  Nicholas A Christakis, J H Fowler•New England Journal of Medicine•2007

  Incluir item

• Social Networks, Host Resistance, and Mortality

  Lisa F Berkman, Lisa Berkman et al.•American Journal of Epidemiology•1979

  Incluir item

• Loneliness and Social Isolation as Risk Factors for Mortality

  Open Access•Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Tony Bagnall Smith et al.•Perspectives on Psychological…•2015

  Incluir item

• Social Relationships and Health

  Open Access•James S House, Karl R Landis et al.•Science•1988

  Incluir item

• Obesity stigma as a globalizing health challenge

  Open Access•Alexandra Brewis, Cindi L Sturtzsreetharan et al.•Globalization and Health•2018

  Incluir item

• Social Stress Desensitizes Lymphocytes to Regulation by Endogenous Glucocorticoids

  Steven W Cole, Steve W Cole et al.•Psychosomatic Medicine•2009

  Incluir item

• Living Alone Is Associated With an Increased Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Men but Not Women From the General Population

  Christa Meisinger, Ulla Kandler et al.•Psychosomatic Medicine•2009

  Incluir item

• Socially isolated individuals are more prone to have newly diagnosed and prevalent type 2 diabetes mellitus - the Maastricht study

  Open Access•Stephanie Brinkhues, Nicole H T M Dukers-Muijrers et al.•BMC Public Health•2017

  Incluir item