Sunday, May 03, 2009

Do grandparents prevent heart attacks?

Malcolm Gladwell begins his book, “Outliers” with a story on the town of Roseto in Pennsylvania, USA. (you can read the entire first chapter here).

The inhabitants of this town are descendents of the migrants (1882) from an Italian village by the same name. In 1955, a physician named Stewart Wolf observed something remarkable about Roseto in the USA. None of the residents suffered any cardiac problems, at least till the age of 65. Curious to find the differentiating factor that blessed these people, he examined their diet first and found nothing significant. In fact, the fat content in their diet was as high as 41%. Nor was it to do with exercise, for the Rosetians smoked heavily and were obese. Was it genetics? Again the answer was no, for the relatives of these people who lived in other towns did not enjoy the same immunity. Anything to do with the fact that it was on the foothills? No, other towns in the vicinity had cardiac incidents close to the national average.

Only Roseto was an outlier. Why?

What Wolf slowly realized was that the Rosetans were healthy because of where they were from, because of the world they had created for themselves in their tiny little town in the hills. The Rosetans visited each other, stopping to chat with each other in Italian on the street, or cooking for each other in their backyards. Many homes had three generations living under one roof, and grandparents commanded much respect. The particular egalitarian ethos of the town discouraged the wealthy from flaunting their success and helped the unsuccessful obscure their failures. In transplanting the paesani culture of southern Italy to the hills of eastern Pennsylvania the Rosetans had created a powerful, protective social structure capable of insulating them from the pressures of the modern world. This was the contributing factor for the absence of cardiac ailments.

I wonder if any similar study has been done in India on cardiac incidents, about 5-6 decades back, when joint families were the norm, and where grandparents were held in high esteem and where a similar social bonding existed. (Unfortunately the mortality was high even without cardiac problems as people were struck with other illnesses such as TB, which could not be controlled without antibiotics. So, we can't find exact correlations)

Recent studies, of course, claim that Indians are genetically pre-disposed to cardiac ailments, and that’s why the incidence of heart attacks is very high, and occurs at a very young age. But, if we go by Roseto’s example, the high incidence in India today may be because we moved away from the social structure (not just the dietary patterns) that kept the cardiac stresses low in the past. The presence of grandparents may have had a therapeutic effect.


here it is!!!! said...

I think living in large families is essential because you will know you can never lose your identity. Nowadays, one's identity comes mostly from spouse and a kid in a faraway land and the other things like jobs and friends for most purposes keep changing. The fact it is from 2 other humans we get our energy is a drain for everyone in the family. We need large families so we can take turns to 'polambify' with everyone and at the end your heart feels so much lighter and you can live longer. Also, grandparents have time to listen to our polambal without judgments.

Balajisblog said...

Raj - My grandparents nearly gave everyone in the family a cardiac ! On my mother's side, my grandfather, at the ripe old age of 70+ actually climbed over the main gate of the house ( he used to wear only his dhoti, and only occassionally kovanam ) because he was denied a cuppa at home at noon, and he was determined to achieve his goal by visiting the nearest tea shop. I was a boy of 15 years then, and while the scene created a riot a home, I still would like to raise a toast to his free spirit ( God bless his soul ). His sons ( 1 dead now for 4 years...of cardiac )...and another postponing his appt with his Maker...with 2 cardiacs on scoreboard. So, statistically speaking, on a sample base of 1 family ( i.e mine on my mother's side )... I seriously disagree with Malcolm Gladwell....Balaji

Raj said...

here it is: True, but see comment below yours.

Balaji, True, there's a flip side, but see comment above yorus.

Usha said...

oh no you didn't know my grandmother. She was enough to give the whole community heart attacks!

Raj said...

Usha, that's the best way not to get heart attacks. Make sure others get it.