PhD Conferral Mrs. Stephanie Brinkhues, MSc.

Keywords: infectious diseases, type 2 diabetes, social network

"Social networks in relation to infectious diseases and type 2 diabetes"

The ageing global population is a worldwide problem. With the number of elderly people on the rise, infectious diseases and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) places a significant burden on healthcare and society. This dissertation focuses on the associations between social networks and health by researching infectious diseases and T2DM. The studies in this dissertation reveal consistent associations between structural and functional social network characteristics and infectious diseases, T2DM and diabetes complications. Our results suggest that social networks may play a promising role in the development of infection prevention strategies, as can prevention strategies that aim to reduce the prevalence of T2DM and diabetes complications.