Roseto effect
The Roseto effect is a sociological phenomenon observed in mid-20th century Roseto, Pennsylvania, where strong social bonds within a tight-knit immigrant community were associated with reports of unusually low rates of heart disease, despite poor dietary and lifestyle factors, though the validity of these findings has been questioned.
The effect takes its name from Roseto, Pennsylvania. In 1961, the local Roseto doctor, Benjamin Falcone, told Stewart Wolf, then head of Medicine at the University of Oklahoma, about the community's strikingly low rate of myocardial infarction among its Italian American residents. This conversation, over a couple of beers,[1] sparked a series of investigations.[2][3][4] Researchers later conducted a 50-year study comparing Roseto to nearby Bangor. As predicted, heart disease rates in Roseto rose and matched those of neighboring towns as residents gradually adopted more individualistic lifestyles and abandoned traditional social structures.[2]
Between 1954 and 1961, Roseto reported almost no heart attacks among men aged 55 to 64, and men over 65 had a death rate of just 1%, compared to the national average of 2%. Widowers also outnumbered widows.[3]
These health outcomes stood in contrast to the community's lifestyle. Residents smoked unfiltered stogies, drank wine regularly, and consumed meatballs and sausages fried in lard, rather than following a Mediterranean diet. Many men worked in slate quarries, where they faced harmful gases and dust. The town also had very low crime rates and minimal reliance on public assistance.[4][2][3]
Wolf and his colleagues attributed the community’s health to its social environment, emphasizing the role of close-knit social ties and a uniform standard of living across the community. In a People magazine interview, Wolf noted: "'The community,' Wolf says, 'was very cohesive. There was no keeping up with the Joneses. Houses were very close together, and everyone lived more or less alike.'"[5] Residents respected elders and involved them in daily life. Families upheld traditional roles, with women running households and men serving as primary earners and authority figures.[2][4]
Later research
[edit]Recent scholarship has revisited the Roseto Effect with more scrutiny. A 2024 peer-reviewed article emphasized the importance of Mediterranean cultural practices, including moderate wine consumption, alongside social cohesion as possible protective factors. The authors argued for a more holistic understanding of Roseto's health outcomes that considers both cultural and dietary habits.[6]
Recent systematic reviews support the broader association between social cohesion and cardiovascular or general health outcomes. A 2021 meta-analysis found that interpersonal and neighborhood-level resilience resources, including perceived social cohesion and social networks, were linked to lower risks of coronary heart disease and stroke in U.S. adults.[7] A 2019 systematic review of reviews found consistent correlations between neighborhood social cohesion and improved outcomes such as physical activity, healthy weight, and reduced depression.[8] Similarly, a 2017 overview of systematic reviews concluded that social isolation and loneliness are consistently associated with increased cardiovascular and all-cause mortality.[9] A 2015 overview of systematic reviews covering over 1.4 million individuals found consistent associations between work-related psychosocial stress and increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, particularly among men.[10] Although these studies do not directly examine Roseto, they support the plausibility of social cohesion as a protective factor for cardiovascular and general health.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Coste, Damien (2016-02-05). "The Proof That People Need People". Vision. Vision Media. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
- ^ a b c d Egolf, B.; Lasker, J.; Wolf, S.; Potvin, L. (1992). "The Roseto effect: a 50-year comparison of mortality rates". American Journal of Public Health. 82 (8): 1089–1092. doi:10.2105/AJPH.82.8.1089. PMC 1695733.
- ^ a b c Grossman, Ron; Leroux, Charles (1996-10-11). "A New 'Roseto Effect': 'People Are Nourished By Other People'". Roseto, Pa.: Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2014-01-18.
- ^ a b c Stout, Clarke; Morrow, Jerry; Brandt, Edward N. Jr.; Wolf, Stewart (1964). "Unusually Low Incidence of Death From Myocardial Infarction: Study of an Italian American Community in Pennsylvania". JAMA. 188 (10): 845–849. doi:10.1001/jama.1964.03060360005001. PMID 14132548.
- ^ Cassill, Kay (June 16, 1980). "Stress Has Hit Roseto, Pa., Once the Town Heart Disease Passed by". People. Vol. 13, no. 24. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19.
- ^ Coste, Damien; Glatron, Stéphane (2024). "The Roseto Effect: What is left today?". OENO One. 58 (1). doi:10.20870/oeno-one.2024.58.1.7838.
- ^ Park, J.; Mealy, R.; Saldanha, I.; Loucks, E.; Needham, B.; Sims, M.; Fava, J.; Dulin, A.; Howe, C. (2021). "Multilevel resilience resources and cardiovascular disease in the United States: A systematic review and meta-analysis". Health Psychology. doi:10.1037/hea0001069. PMC 8678382.
- ^ Pérez, Elsury; Braën, Caroline; Boyer, Ginette; Mercille, Geneviève; Rehany, Émilie; Deslauriers, Véronique; Bilodeau, Angèle; Potvin, L. (2019). "Neighbourhood community life and health: A systematic review of reviews". Health & Place. 59: 102238. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2019.102238.
- ^ Leigh-Hunt, N.; Bagguley, D.; Bash, K.; Turner, V.; Turnbull, S.; Valtorta, N.; Caan, W. (2017). "An overview of systematic reviews on the public health consequences of social isolation and loneliness". Public Health. 152: 157–171. doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2017.07.035.
- ^ Fishta, A.; Backé, E. (2015). "Psychosocial stress at work and cardiovascular diseases: an overview of systematic reviews". International Archives of Occupational and Environmental Health. 88: 997–1014. doi:10.1007/s00420-015-1019-0. PMC 4608992.