Social interactions during adolescence can affect health many years into adulthood, according to research published June 27 in the open access journal PLoS ONE.
The authors of the study, led by Per E Gustafsson of Umeå University in Sweden, used data from a long-term study monitoring social relationships and health over 27 years, from age 16 to 43, for over 800 participants. The researchers found that problematic peer relationships in adolescence, as measured through teachers' assessments, were correlated with all components of metabolic syndrome, which is a cluster of metabolic and cardiovascular issues including obesity and high blood pressure, in middle age.
Citation: Gustafsson PE, Janlert U, Theorell T, Westerlund H, Hammarstro¨m A (2012) Do Peer Relations in Adolescence Influence Health in Adulthood? Peer Problems in the School Setting and the Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-Age. PLoS ONE 7(6): e39385. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039385
Financial Disclosure: The study was funded by the County Council of Va¨sterbotten (www.vll.se, ALF, grant number 147931), The Swedish Research Council (www.vr.se, VR, grant number 521-2005-4084), the Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research (www.fas.se, FAS, grant number 2006-0950), and PEG by Umea° University (www.umu.se, Young Researcher Award, grant number 223-514-09). The study was in part also funded by the Stockholm Stress Center, a FAS (Swedish Council for Working Life and Social Research) Centre of Excellence (FAS, grant #2009-1758). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interest Statement: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0039385
Disclaimer: This press release refers to upcoming articles in PLoS ONE. The releases have been provided by the article authors and/or journal staff. Any opinions expressed in these are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLoS. PLoS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the release and article and your use of such information.
About PLoS ONE
PLoS ONE is the first journal of primary research from all areas of science to employ a combination of peer review and post-publication rating and commenting, to maximize the impact of every report it publishes. PLoS ONE is published by the Public Library of Science (PLoS), the open-access publisher whose goal is to make the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource.
All works published in PLoS ONE are Open Access. Everything is immediately available—to read, download, redistribute, include in databases and otherwise use—without cost to anyone, anywhere, subject only to the condition that the original authors and source are properly attributed. For more information about PLoS ONE relevant to journalists, bloggers and press officers, including details of our press release process and our embargo policy, see the everyONE blog at http://everyone.plos.org/media.
Journal
PLoS ONE