Relationship between social support status and mortality in a community-based population: a prospective observational study (Yamagata study)

Abstract

Background Social support, defined as the exchange of support in social relationships, plays a vital role in maintaining healthy behavior and mitigating the effects of stressors. This study investigated whether functional aspect of social support is related to 5-year mortality in health checkup participants. Methods This study recruited 16,651 subjects (6797 males, 9854 females). Social support was evaluated using five-component questions: Do you have someone 1) whom you can consult when you are in trouble? 2) whom you can consult when your physical condition is not good? 3) who can help you with daily homework? 4) who can take you to hospital when you don’t feel well? and 5) who can take care of you when you are ill in bed? The association between the component of social support and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality was examined using Cox proportional hazard analysis. Results The percentage of subjects without social support components was 7.7–15.0%. They were more likely to be male, non-elderly, and living alone. During the follow-up period, there were 166 all-cause and 38 cardiovascular deaths. Cox proportional analysis adjusted for confounders showed that only the lack of support for transportation to hospital was significantly associated with all-cause (hazard ratio [HR] 2.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.26–3.05) and cardiovascular mortality (HR 3.30, 95% CI 1.41–6.87). These associations were stronger in males than females. Conclusion This study showed that the lack of social support for transportation to the hospital was independently associated with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a community-based population.

Factors associated with health intentions and behaviour among health checkup participants in Japan

“…The study targeted local inhabitants covered by national health insurance, most of whom were agricultural workers, forestry workers, fisheries workers, self-employed, part-time workers, retirees, or unemployed. The details of this study have been reported in a previous study 41 . The eligibility criteria selected participants of local health checkups from 2009 to 2015 who were 40–74 years old.…”

Lack of Social Support and Its Role on Self-Perceived Health in a Representative Sample of Spanish Adults. Another Aspect of Gender Inequality

“…Apart from the classical factors that determine health, social support has been described to have relevant influence on health and mortality [16][17][18]. Moreover, receiving affection can represent a determining factor for good self-perceived health [19], while the lack of social support can be very relevant in some population groups, like the elderly [20,21].…”

Mental Health and Social Support Are Key Predictors of Resilience in German Women with Endometriosis during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…After a 12-month follow-up of people suffering from pain after traffic injuries, dissatisfaction with social life was recognized as a predictor of a non-resilient mental health trajectory [30]. Similar studies reported that social support buffered the negative effects of life adversities [65,70] and stressors on health and revealed a reduction in mortality of up to 50% in those with satisfying social relationships [72,73]. Social isolation has been linked to (epi-)genetic changes in humans, exposing affected individuals to long-term stress-related alterations in mental health and, thus, resilience [74,75].…”