title: Interpersonal distance: a factor in infectious disease morbidity and mortality?
abstract: We hypothesized a greater incidence of diseases transmitted by airborne vectors in countries where people interact at shorter distances from each other compared to countries where people interact at greater distances. Therefore, we examined the relationship between the interpersonal distance of pairs of people from different countries and the incidence of infectious disease in those countries. Morbidity and mortality data for 1981 were obtained from WHO reports, while interpersonal distance estimates were taken from Watson's study of proxemic behavior. Respiratory tuberculosis morbidity was negatively correlated with interpersonal distance (r = -.51, p = .037), while respiratory tuberculosis mortality was not (r = -.42, p = .051). Mortality from non-respiratory tuberculosis was negatively related to interpersonal distance (r = -.60, p = .007). To verify these correlations, we repeated the analyses using incidence data from 1977. Neither of the correlations remained significant, although for respiratory tuberculosis morbidity r = -.44 (p = .059). Our inability to replicate the original findings suggests the significant results for 1981 may have been spurious.
mesh_terms: D003141:Communicable Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D010550:Personal Space; D013037:Spatial Behavior; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality