The Rosetto Effect
The Roseto Study (which resulted in the Rosetto effect), one of the first to demonstrate a direct link between health and language, was conducted on a group of Italian immigrants living in a small town in Pennsylvania originally from the same town in Italy.
This group was found to have an unusually low incidence of mortality from heart disease as compared to the overall U.S. population, as well as other ethnic groups living in neighboring towns. A look at disease trends between 1955 and 1965 for men over 65 reveal that the death rate from heart disease in Roseto, PA (named after their hometown in Italy) was 30 to 35% lower than expected compared to other populations in the surrounding areas.
Upon evaluation of the factors potentially responsible for this difference in health status, results indicated that the main difference was the frequency of social interactions among the people living in Roseto – “a traditionally cohesive family unit and strong community relationships” were thought to be primarily responsible.
It was hypothesized that lowered stress levels due to increased interpersonal communication among members of this community in turn significantly lowered the incidence of heart disease. All other factors, such as diet and exercise, were otherwise found to be equivalent in neighboring communities with a higher mortality rate linked to heart disease. This is the Rosetto effect.
Using the same parameters in a study of the current population in Roseto, the data revealed that changes in their lifestyle from previous generations as a result of assimilation or “Americanization” had in turn resulted in a changed health status. The new data further confirmed the initial hypothesis of the Rosetto effect, which was that the frequency of social interaction was in fact responsible for the lower rate of death due to heart disease. At a time when tweeting and texting is the preferred form of communication, it may be worthwhile to consider incorporating more direct interpersonal communication and social interaction into our own lives.
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