Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41607901›Full record

ArticleFrontiers in public health2025

Social network diversity and COVID-19 infection and severity risk: a longitudinal population study.

Takahiro Suzuki, Takeo Fujiwara, Takahiro Tabuchi

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Takahiro SuzukiDepartment of Public Health, Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Takeo FujiwaraDepartment of Public Health, Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Takahiro TabuchiDivision of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Clinical evidence on how social network diversity (SND) influences the risk of infection and disease severity during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic remains limited. We aim to investigate the associations between SND and the risk of COVID-19 infection and disease severity using a large-scale longitudinal cohort study. Methods: We analyzed data from participants in a longitudinal study, the Japan COVID-19 and Society Internet Survey (JACSIS) between 2020 and 2023. The SND score was calculated as the sum of seven distinct types of social networks. COVID-19 infection was assessed as ever infection, and severity was defined as oxygen-requiring admission, using a self-reported questionnaire. Poisson regression with robust standard errors estimated risk ratios (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Results: Of 13,713 participants (mean age 53.2 ± 15.7 years, 46.4% women), 3,251 (23.7%) developed COVID-19, and among infected individuals, 277 (8.5%) required oxygen therapy. Higher SND scores were associated with COVID-19 infection with linear trend (SND score 7 vs. 0: adjusted RR 2.49; 95% CI 2.11-2.95). In contrast, the association between SND score and disease severity followed a U-shaped pattern, with 4-5 SND showing the lowest risk of oxygen-requiring admission (adjusted RR 0.15; 95% CI 0.11-0.30) compared to those with 0 SND. Conclusion: While higher SND was associated with increased COVID-19 infection risk, moderate social network diversity appeared protective against severe disease outcomes. These findings suggest a complex trade-off between exposure risk and potential health benefits of social networks during infectious disease outbreaks.

Indexed as

COVID-19Social NetworkingAdultAgedFemaleHumansJapanLongitudinal StudiesMaleMiddle AgedRisk FactorsSARS-CoV-2Severity of Illness IndexSurveys and Questionnairescoronavirus disease 2019infectionlongitudinal cohort studysocial determinants of healthsocial network diversity

Identifiers

PMID41607901
PMCPMC12834764

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.