Lack of social support and incidence of coronary heart disease in middle-aged Swedish men

Lack of social support and incidence of coronary heart disease in middle-aged Swedish men

K Orth-Gomer, A Rosengren and L Wilhelmsen
National Institute for Psychosocial Factors and Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.

Lack of social support has been found to predict all causes of mortality in population studies. It has often been assumed that the lack of social ties is associated with the general social conditions related to mortality and has little to do with specific disease etiology. So far, the association between lack of support and cardiovascular disease incidence has not been demonstrated. We have measured both emotional support from very close persons ("attachment") and the support provided by the extended network ("social integration"). This measure was applied along with standard measures of traditional risk factors to a random sample of 50-year-old men born in Gothenborg in 1933. All men (n = 736) were followed for 6 years and the incidence of myocardial infarction and death from coronary heart disease (CHD) was determined. Both "attachment" and "social integration" were lower in men who contracted CHD, with a significant effect for social integration (p = 0.04) and an almost significant effect for attachment (p = 0.07). When controlling for other risk factors in multiple logistic regression analyses, both factors remained as significant predictors of new CHD events. Smoking and lack of social support were the two leading risk factors for CHD in these middle-aged men.

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				B. N. Uchino Understanding the Links Between Social Support and Physical Health: A Life-Span Perspective With Emphasis on the Separability of Perceived and Received Support Perspectives on Psychological Science, May 1, 2009; 4(3): 236 - 255. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. N. Uchino What a lifespan approach might tell us about why distinct measures of social support have differential links to physical health Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, February 1, 2009; 26(1): 53 - 62. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. Orth-Gomer Are social relations less health protective in women than in men? Social relations, gender, and cardiovascular health Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, February 1, 2009; 26(1): 63 - 71. [Abstract] [PDF]

				K. A. Ertel, M. M. Glymour, and L. F. Berkman Social networks and health: A life course perspective integrating observational and experimental evidence Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, February 1, 2009; 26(1): 73 - 92. [PDF]

				P. H. Wirtz, L. S. Redwine, U. Ehlert, and R. von Kanel Independent Association Between Lower Level of Social Support and Higher Coagulation Activity Before and After Acute Psychosocial Stress Psychosom Med, January 1, 2009; 71(1): 30 - 37. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. J. Rodriguez, M. M. Burg, J. Meng, T. G. Pickering, Z. Jin, R. L. Sacco, B. Boden-Albala, S. Homma, and M. R. Di Tullio Effect of Social Support on Nocturnal Blood Pressure Dipping Psychosom Med, January 1, 2008; 70(1): 7 - 12. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

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				K. Honda Factors Associated With Colorectal Cancer Screening Among the US Urban Japanese Population Am J Public Health, May 1, 2004; 94(5): 815 - 822. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T Waterston, G Alperstein, and S Stewart Brown Social capital: a key factor in child health inequalities Arch. Dis. Child., May 1, 2004; 89(5): 456 - 459. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. S. Helgeson, S. A. Novak, S. J. Lepore, and D. T. Eton Spouse Social Control Efforts: Relations to Health Behavior and Well-Being among Men with Prostate Cancer Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, February 1, 2004; 21(1): 53 - 68. [Abstract] [PDF]

				A. Rosengren, L. Wilhelmsen, and K. Orth-Gomer Coronary disease in relation to social support and social class in Swedish men: A 15 year follow-up in the study of men born in 1933 Eur. Heart J., January 1, 2004; 25(1): 56 - 63. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. A. Karlin, E. Brondolo, and J. Schwartz Workplace Social Support and Ambulatory Cardiovascular Activity in New York City Traffic Agents Psychosom Med, March 1, 2003; 65(2): 167 - 176. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Lack of social support and incidence of coronary heart disease in middle-aged Swedish men

				G. V. Ostir, E. Simonsick, J. D. Kasper, and J. M. Guralnik Satisfaction With Support Given and Its Association With Subsequent Health Status J Aging Health, August 1, 2002; 14(3): 355 - 369. [Abstract] [PDF]

				H.-X. Wang, A. Karp, B. Winblad, and L. Fratiglioni Late-Life Engagement in Social and Leisure Activities Is Associated with a Decreased Risk of Dementia: A Longitudinal Study from the Kungsholmen Project Am. J. Epidemiol., June 15, 2002; 155(12): 1081 - 1087. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				P. M. Eng, E. B. Rimm, G. Fitzmaurice, and I. Kawachi Social Ties and Change in Social Ties in Relation to Subsequent Total and Cause-specific Mortality and Coronary Heart Disease Incidence in Men Am. J. Epidemiol., April 15, 2002; 155(8): 700 - 709. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. E Roeters van Lennep, H.T. Westerveld, D.W. Erkelens, and E. E van der Wall Risk factors for coronary heart disease: implications of gender Cardiovasc Res, February 15, 2002; 53(3): 538 - 549. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. Orth-Gomer, S. P. Wamala, M. Horsten, K. Schenck-Gustafsson, N. Schneiderman, and M. A. Mittleman Marital Stress Worsens Prognosis in Women With Coronary Heart Disease: The Stockholm Female Coronary Risk Study JAMA, December 20, 2000; 284(23): 3008 - 3014. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. Kivimäki, M. Elovainio, and J. Vahtera Workplace bullying and sickness absence in hospital staff Occup. Environ. Med., October 1, 2000; 57(10): 656 - 660. [Abstract] [Full Text]

				M. Rosvall, P. O. Ostergren, B. Hedblad, S-O. Isacsson, L. Janzon, and G. Berglund Occupational Status, Educational Level, and the Prevalence of Carotid Atherosclerosis in a General Population Sample of Middle-aged Swedish Men and Women: Results from the Malmo Diet and Cancer Study Am. J. Epidemiol., August 15, 2000; 152(4): 334 - 346. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				N. Frasure-Smith and F Lesperance Coronary artery disease, depression and social support only the beginning Eur. Heart J., July 1, 2000; 21(13): 1043 - 1045. [PDF]

				M Horsten, M.A Mittleman, S.P Wamala, K Schenck-Gustafsson, and K Orth-Gomer Depressive symptoms and lack of social integration in relation to prognosis of CHD in middle-aged women. The Stockholm Female Coronary Risk Study Eur. Heart J., July 1, 2000; 21(13): 1072 - 1080. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P G Surtees, N W J Wainwright, and C Brayne Psychosocial aetiology of chronic disease: a pragmatic approach to the assessment of lifetime affective morbidity in an EPIC component study J Epidemiol Community Health, February 1, 2000; 54(2): 114 - 122. [Abstract] [Full Text]