A study of Roseto, a homogeneous Italian-American community in Pennsylvania, and other nearby towns between 1955 and 1965 lead to the conclusion that lower Myocardial Infarction rates in Roseto were due to their cohesive family and community relationships. Following a period of erosion of traditionally cohesive family and community relationships, Myocardial infarction rates in Roseto rose as predicted to match those of neighboring towns. This is now commonly known as the Roseto effect.
Resources
Egolf B, Lasker J, Wolf S, Potvin L. The Roseto effect: a 50-year comparison of mortality rates. American Journal of Public Health. 1992;82(8):1089-1092. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1695733/
See original article: Roseto Effect
https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.82.8.1089
Other studies have shown the importance of relationships to health.
- Blue Zones
- The Harvard Longitudinal Study
