Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Social epidemiology: Definition, history, and research examples

  • Review Article
  • Published:
Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine Aims and scope

Abstract

Social epidemiology is a branch of epidemiology that focuses particularly on the effects of social-structural factors on states of health. Social epidemiology assumes that the distribution of advantages and disadvantages in a society reflects the distribution of health and disease. It proposes to identify societal characteristics that affect the pattern of disease and health distribution in a society and to understand its mechanisms. The central and initial question of social epidemiology to be answered is what effect do social factors have on individual and population health. However, the new focus on this theme using current epidemiological methods is a relatively recent phenomenon. There are several significant concepts in the field of social epidemiology: 1) the bio-psychosocial paradigm, 2) the population perspective, 3) use of new statistical approaches such as multilevel analysis, and 4) significance of theory.

The relationship between social class and health has been a major research field since the beginning of public health history. Many studies have identified the disparities in health among social classes and developed several theories, such as social selection theory and socio-biological translation theory. However, despite the long history of this research field, the effect of social class on health is not yet fully understood.

Income distribution and health is a relatively new field within social epidemiology. Three possible mechanisms for the consequences of income distribution on health are 1) disinvestment of human capital, 2) disinvestment of social capital, and 3) psychological process. Refining theories of income distribution is a major challenge in research on income distribution.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Berkman LF, Kawachi I. A historical framework for social epidemiology. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I, eds. Social epidemiology. New York: Oxford university press, 2000: 3–12.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Succer M. Causal thinking in the health sciences: concepts and strategies in epidemiology. New York: Oxford Press, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Krieger N. Lipidemiology and the web of causation: has anyone seen the spider? Soc Sci Med 1994; 39: 887–903.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Amick III BC, Levine S, Tarlov AR, Walsh DC. Introduction. In: Amick III BC, Levine S, Tarlov AR, Walsh DC, editors. Society and Health. New York: Oxford university press, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Villerme LR. A description of the physical and moral state of workers employed in cotton, wool, and silk mills. In: Buck C, Llopis A, Najera E, Terris M, editors. The challenge of epidemiology: issues and selected readings. Washington: PAHO/WHO, 1988: 33–37.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Virchow L. Report on the typhus epidemic in Upper Silesia. In: Rather LJ, editor. Rudolf Virchow: collected essays on public health and epidemiology, Vol. 1. Canton, MA: Science History Publications, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Chadwick E. Report to her Majesty’s principal Secretary of State for the Home Department, from the Poor Law Commissioners, on an inquiry into the Sanitary Conditions of the Labouring Classes of Great Britain. London: W Clowse & Son, 1842.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Tesh S. Hidden arguments: political ideology and disease prevention policy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Winslow CEA. The evolution and significance of the modern public health campaign. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1923.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Pearce N. Traditional epidemiology, modern epidemiology, and public health. Am J Public Health 1996; 86: 678–683.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Susser M, Susser E. Choosing a future for epidemiology: I. Eras and paradigms. Am J Public Health 1996; 86: 668–673.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Susser M, Susser E. Choosing a future for epidemiology: II. From Black box to Chinese boxes and eco-epidemiology. Am J Public Health 1996; 86: 674–677.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Rothman K. Modern epidemiology. Boston: Little, Brown & Co., 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Rose G. The strategy of preventive medicine. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Rose G. Sick individuals and sick populations. Int J of Epidemiology 1985; 14: 32–38.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Macintyre S, Ellaway A. Ecological approaches: rediscovering the role of the physical and social environment. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I, editors. Social epidemiology. New York: Oxford university press, 2000: 332–348.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Kariya T. Japanese public education—diplomaism and myth of equality in Japan’s postwar history. Tokyo: Chuoukoronsya, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Jones K. Specifying and estimating multilevel models for geographical research. Trans Inst Br Geographers 1991; 16: 148–159.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Marmot MG, Kogevnas M, Elston MA. Social/economic status and disease. Annu Rev Public Health 1987; 8: 111–137.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Marmot MG, Davey-Smith G, Stansfeld S, et al. Health inequalities among British civil servants; the Whitehall Il study. Lancet 1991; 337: 1387–1393.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Link BG, Phelan J. Social conditions as fundamental causes of disease. J Health Soc Behav 1995; Spec No: 80–94.

  22. Lynch JW, Kaplan GA, Cohen RD, Tuomilehto J, Salonen JT. Do cardiovascular risk factors explain the relation between socioeconomic status, risk of all-cause mortality cardiovascular mortality and acute myocardial infarction? Am J Epidemiol 1996; 144: 934–942.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  23. Davey-Smith G, Dorling D. “I’m all right John”: voting patterns and mortality in England and Wales, 1981–92. BMJ 1995; 313: 1573–1577.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Davey-Smith G, Shipley MJ, Rose G. Magnitude and causes of socioeconomic differentials in mortality: further evidence from the Whitehall Study. J Epidemiol Community Health 1990; 44: 265–270.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Macintyre S, Ellaway A, Der G, Ford G, Hunt K. Do housing tenure and car access predict health because they are simply markers of income or self-esteem? A Scottish study. J Epidemiol Community Health 1998; 52: 657–664.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  26. Marmot M, Bobak M, Davey-Smith G. Explanations for social inequalities in Health. In: Amick III BC, Levine S, Tarlov AR, Walsh DC, editors. Society and Health, New York: Oxford university press; 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Black D, Morris JN, Smith C, Townsend P, Whitehead M. Inequalities in health: The Black report: the health divide. London: Penguin Group; 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Macintyre S. The Black report and beyond: what are the issues? Soc Sci Med 1997; 44: 723–746.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  29. Brenner HM. Political economy and health. In: Amick III BC, Levine S, Tarlov AR, Walsh DC, editors. Society and health. New York: Oxford unviersity press; 1995: 211–246.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Macintyre S. What are spatial effects and how can we measure them? In: Dale A, editor. Exploiting national survey data: the role of locality and spatial effects. Manchester (UK): Faculty of Economic and Social Studies University of Manchester; 1997. p. 1–17.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Taylor SWE, Repetti RL, Seeman T. Health psychology: what is an unhealthy environment and how does it get under the skin? Ann Rev Psychol. 1997; 48: 411–447.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Sampson RJ, Raudenbush SW, Earls F. Neighborhoods and violent crime: a multilevel study of collective efficacy. Science 1997; 277: 918–924.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Berkman LF, Glass T. Social integration, social networks, social support and health. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I, editors. Social epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press; 2000: 137–173.

    Google Scholar 

  34. Lynch JW, Kaplan GA, Cohen RD, Tuomilehto J, Salonen JT. Do cardiovascular risk factors explain the relation between socioeconomic status, risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular mortality, and acute myocardial infarction? Am J Epidemilol 1996; 144: 934–942.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Kubzansky LD, Kawachi I. Affective States and Health. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I, editors. Social epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press; 2000: 213–241.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Emmons KM, Marcus BH, Linnan L, Rossi JS, Abrams DB. Mechanisms in multiple risk factor interventions: smoking, physical activity, and dietary fat intake among manufacturing workers. Prev Med 1994; 23: 481–489.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  37. Emmons KM. Health behaviors in a social context. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I, editors. Social epidemiology. New York: Oxford University Press; 2000: 242–266.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Berkman LF, Macintyre S. The measurement of social class in health studies: old measures and new formulations. In Kogevinas M, Pearce N, Susser M, Boffeta P, editors. Social inequalities and cancer. Lyon (FR): International Agency for Research on Cancer; 1997: 51–64.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Wilkinson RG. Income distribution and life expectancy. BMJ 1992; 304: 165–168.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. Kaplan GA, Pamuk E, Lynch JW, Cohen RD, Balfour JL. Income inequality and mortality in the United States: analysis of mortality and potential pathways. BMJ 1996; 312: 999–1003.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Lynch JW, Kaplan GA, Pamuk ER, Cohen RD, Balfour JL, Yen IH. Am J Public Health. 1998; 88: 1074–1080.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  42. Kennedy BP, Kawachi I, Prothrow-Smith D. Income distribution and mortality: cross-sectional ecological study of the Robin Hood Index in the United States. BMJ. 1996; 312: 1004–1007.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Kawachi I. Income inequality and health. In: Berkman LF, Kawachi I, editors. Social epidemiology. New York; Oxford University Press, 2000: 76–94.

    Google Scholar 

  44. Shibuya K, Hashimoto H, Yano E. Individual income, income distribution, and self rated health in Japan: cross sectional analysis of nationally representative sample. BMJ 2002; 324: 16–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  45. Krugman P. The spiral of inequality. Mother Jones, 1996; November/December: 44–49.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Kawachi I, Kennedy BP, Lochner K, Prothrow-Smith D. Social capital, income inequality, and mortality. Am J Public Health 1997; 87: 1491–1498.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Kawachi I, Kennedy BP, Glass R. Social capital and self-rated health: a contextual analysis. Am J Public Health 1999; 89: 1187–1193.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Kawachi I, Kennedy BP, Wilkinson RG. Crime: social disorganization and relative deprivation. Soc Sci Med 1999; 48: 719–731.

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Kawachi I, Levine S, Miller SM, Lasch K, Amick BC III. Income inequality and life expectancy: theory, research, and policy. Boston: The Health Institute, New England Medical Center, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Social and Environmental Life Sciences Social Medicine and Longevity Sciences, Hygiene and Preventive Medicine, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine and Dentistry, 2-5-1 Shikata-cho, 700-8558, Okayama, Japan

    Kaori Honjo

Authors
  1. Kaori Honjo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kaori Honjo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Honjo, K. Social epidemiology: Definition, history, and research examples. Environ Health Prev Med 9, 193–199 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02898100

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02898100

Key words

Search

Navigation