• Di Pan DO, Jihui L Diaz, Karissa Weidman, Julia Graham, Parag Goyal, Mangala Rajan, Jennifer Lau, Laura Pinheiro, Leena Rachid, Will Simmons, Edward J Schenck, Monika M Safford, and Lindsay Lief.
• Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, Department of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, NY. Electronic address: dip9063@med.cornell.edu.
• Am. J. Med. 2024 Apr 25.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of considering social determinants of health in health outcomes. Within this spectrum of determinants, social networks garnered attention as the pandemic highlighted the negative effects of social isolation in the context of social distancing measures. Post-pandemic, examining the role social networks play in COVID-19 recovery can help guide patient care and shape future health policies. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between social networks and self-rated health change, as well as physical function, in patients recovering from COVID-19 pneumonia.MethodsThis was a retrospective cohort study utilizing clinical data from two New York City hospitals and a 9-month follow-up survey of COVID-19 pneumonia survivors. We evaluated a composite Social Network Score from the 6-item Lubben Social Network Scale and its association with two outcomes: 1) self-rated health change and 2) physical function.ResultsA total of 208 patients were included in this study. A one-point increase in the Social Network Score was associated with greater odds of both improved or similar self-rated health change (odds ratio [OR] 1.07, 95% CI 1.02 - 1.12, p = 0.01), as well as unimpaired physical function (OR 1.08, 95% CI 1.03 - 1.14, p < 0.01).ConclusionThis study emphasized the importance of social networks as a social determinant of health among patients recovering from COVID-19 hospitalization. Targeted interventions to enhance social networks may benefit not only COVID-19 patients but also individuals recovering from other acute illnesses.Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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