Abstract
The aim of this study was to ascertain the relationship between social network and the appearance of mortality (cardiovascular events (CVEs)) in patients with arterial hypertension (AHT). This is a cohort study of 236 patients with a 9-year follow-up. Measurements included age, sex, blood pressure (BP), diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, marital status, social network, social support, stage of family life cycle (FLC), mortality and CVEs. Patients with a low social network registered higher global mortality (hazards ratio (HR) 2.6 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.3; 5.5)) as did the oldest patients (HR 5.6 (1.9; 16.8)), men (HR 3.5 (95% CI 1.3; 9.3)) and subjects in the last FLC stages (HR 4.3 (95% CI 1.3;14.1)). Patients with low social support registered higher cardiovascular mortality (HR 2.6 (95% CI 1.1; 6.1)) as did the oldest patients (HR 12.4 (95% CI 2.8; 55.2)) and those with diabetes (HR 3.00 (95% CI 1.2; 7.6)). Patients with a low social network registered more CVEs (HR 2.1 (95% CI 1.1; 4.1)) than patients with an adequate network, as did the oldest patients (HR 3.1 (95% CI 1.4; 6.9)), subjects who presented with a higher grade of severity of AHT (HR 2.7 (1.3; 5.5)) and those in the last FLC stages (HR 2.5 (95% CI 1.0; 6.2)). A low social network is associated with mortality and the appearance of CVEs in patients with AHT. Low functional social support is associated with the appearance of cardiovascular mortality.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Croezen S, Picavet HS, Haveman-Nies A, Verschuren WM, de Groot LC, van't Veer P . Do positive or negative experiences of social support relate to current and future health? Results from the Doetinchem Cohort Study. BMC Public Health 2012; 12: 65.
Berkman L, Syme L . Social networks, host resistance and mortality: a nine-year follow-up study of Alameda county residents. Am J Epidemiol 1979; 109: 186–204.
Petersson L, Hedblad B, Janzon L, Östergren P . Social support and behavior in a stressful situation in relation to myocardial infarction and mortality: who is at risk? Results from prospective cohort study “Men born in 1914”, Malmö, Sweden. Int J Behav Med 2006; 13 (4): 340–347.
Prince MJ, Harwood RH, Blizard RA, Thomas A, Mann AH . Social support deficits, loneliness and life events as risk factors for depression in old age. The Gospel Oak Project VI. Psychol Med 1997; 27: 323–332.
Fortmann AL, Gallo LC . Social support and nocturnal blood pressure dipping: a systematic review. Am J Hypertens 2013; 26 (3): 302–310.
Barth J, Schneider S, von Känel R . Lack of social support in the etiology and the prognosis of coronary heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychosom Med 2010; 72 (3): 229–238.
Rosengren A, Hawken S, Ôunpuu K, Zubaid M, Almahmeed W, Blackett K et al. Association of psychosocial risk factors with risk of acute myocardial infarction in 11119 cases and 13648 controls from 52 countries (the INTERHEART study): case-control study. Lancet 2004; 364: 953–962.
Menéndez C, Montes A, Gamarra T, Núñez C, Alonso A, Buján S . Influencia del apoyo social en pacientes con hipertensión arterial esencial. Aten Primaria 2003; 31: 506–513.
Bellón JA, Delgado A, de Dios LJ, Lardelli P . Validez y fiabilidad del cuestionario de apoyo social funcional Duke-UNC-11. Aten Primaria 1996; 18 (4): 153–163.
Blake R, McKay D . A single-item measure of social supports as a predictor of morbidity. J Fam Pract 1986; 22: 82–84.
Piñeiro F, Gil V, Orozco D, Pastor R, Merino J . Validez de 6 métodos indirectos para valorar el cumplimiento del tratamiento farmacológico en la hipertensión arterial. Aten Primaria 1997; 19: 372–375.
De La Revilla L . Conceptos e Instrumentos de la Atención Familiar. Doyma: Barcelona, Spain, 1994.
Bellón JA, Delgado A, Luna J, Lardelli P . Validez y fiabilidad del cuestionario de función familiar Apgar-familiar. Aten Primaria 1996; 18: 289–296.
Banegas JR . Epidemiología de la hipertensión arterial en España. Situación actual y perspectivas. Hipertensión 2005; 22 (9): 353–362.
Coca A . Evolución del control de la hipertensión arterial en atención primaria en España. Resultados del estudio Controlpres 2003. Hipertensión 2005; 22 (1): 5–14.
Ferrando J, Nebot M, Borrell C, Egea L . Apoyo social y estado de salud percibido población no institucionalizada de más de 60 años. Gac Sanit 1996; 10: 174–182.
Fernández AM, Bujalance MJ, Leiva F, Martos F, Crespo AJ, García AJ et al. Salud autopercibida, apoyo social y familiar de los pacientes con enfermedad pulmonar obstructiva crónica. Medifam 2001; 11: 530–539.
Eng P. M, Rimm EB, Fitzmaurice G, Kawachi I . 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 2002; 155 (8): 700–709.
Lobos Bejarano JM, Royo-Bordonada MA, Brotons C, Alvarez-Sala L, Armario P, Maiques A et al. [European Guidelines on Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Clinical Practice. CEIPC 2008 Spanish Adaptation]. Aten Primaria. 2009; 41 (8): 463.e1–463.e24.
Kawachi I, Colditz G, Ascherio A, Rimm E, Giovannucci E, Stampfer M et al. A prospective study of social networks in relation to total mortality and cardiovascular disease in men in the USA. J Epidemiol Community Health 1996; 50: 245–251.
Russek L, Schwartz G . Perceptions of paternal caring predict health status in midlife: a 35- year follow-up of the Harvard Mastery of Stress Study. Psychosom Med 1997; 59: 144–149.
Jenkinson CM, Madeley RJ, Mitchell RA, Turner ID . The influence of psychosocial factors on survival after myocardial infarction. Public Health 1993; 107: 305–317.
Ruberman W, Weinblatt E, Goldberg J, Chaudhary B . Psychosocial influences on mortality after myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med 1985; 311: 552–559.
Seeman T, Syme L . Social networks and coronary artery disease: a comparison of the structure and function of social relations as predictors of disease. Psychosom Med 1987; 49: 341–354.
Krumholz H, Butler J, Miller J, Vaccarino V, Williams C, Mendes de León C et al. Prognostic importance of emotional support for elderly patients hospitalized with heart failure. Circulation 1998; 97: 958–964.
Berkman L, Leo-Summers L, Horwitz R . Emotional support and survival after myocardial infarction. Ann Intern Med 1992; 117: 1003–1009.
Zenarutzabeitia A, Rodriguez JJ, López M . Atención a la familia. In: Casado Vicente Verónica y Colaboradores. Tratado de Medicina de Familia y Comunitaria Vol II. Semfyc Ediciones: Barcelona, Spain, 2007, 1783–1825.
Dickens CM, McGowan L, Percival C, Douglas J, Tomenson B, Cotter L et al. Lack of a close confidant but no depression, predicts further cardiac events after IAM. Heart 2004; 90: 518–522.
Schoenbach V, Kaplan B, Fredman L, Kleinbaum D . Social ties and mortality in Evans County, Georgia. Am J Epidemiol 1986; 123: 577–591.
Orth-Gomer K, Johnson JV . Social network interaction and mortality. J Chronic Dis 1987; 40: 949–957.
Wellin L, Svardsudd K, Ander-Peciva S, Tibblin G, Tibblin B, Larsson B . Prospective study of social influences on mortality. Lancet 1985; 20: 915–918.
Yasuda N, Zimmerman SI, Hawkes W, Fredman L, Hebel JR, Mazinger J . Relation of social network characteristics to 5-year mortality among young-old versus old-old white women in an urban community. Am J Epidemiol 1997; 145 (6): 516–523.
Nebot M, Lafuente J, Tomás Z, Borrell C, Ferrando J . Efecto protector del apoyo social en la mortalidad en población anciana: un estudio longitudinal. Rev Esp Salud Pública 2002; 76: 673–682.
Hanson B, Isacsson S, Janzon L, Lindell S, Rastam L . Social anchorage and blood pressure in elderly men -a population study. J Hypertens 1988; 6: 503–510.
Penninx BW, van Tilburg T, Kriegsman DM, Deeg DJ, Boeke AJ, van Eijk JT . Effects of social support and personal coping resources on mortality in older age: the Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam. Am J Epidemiol 1997; 146 (6): 510–519.
Seeman T, Berkman LF, Kohout F, Lacroix A, Glynn R, Blazer DG . Intercommunity variation in the association between social ties and mortality in the elderly: a comparative analysis of three communities. Ann Epidemiol 1993; 3: 325–335.
Hu HH, Li G, Arao T . The association of family social support, depression, anxiety and self-efficacy with specific hypertension self-care behaviours in Chinese local community. J Hum Hypertens (e-pub ahead of print 10 July 2014; doi:10.1038/jhh.2014.58).
Bell CN, Thorpe RJ Jr, Laveist TA . Race/ethnicity and hypertension: the role of social support. Am J Hypertens 2010; 23 (5): 534–540.
Moyer VA . Behavioral counseling interventions to promote a healthful diet and physical activity for cardiovascular disease prevention in adults: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement. Ann Intern Med 2012; 157: 367–372.
Rees K, Bennett P, West R, Davey SG, Ebrahim S . Psychological Interventions for Coronary Heart Disease (Cochrane Review). Update Software: Oxford, UK, 2004.
Acknowledgements
We thank Dr Joaquín Cubiella Fernández for his help with the drafting of this manuscript. This work was funded by Health Research Fund grant FIS 96/1480 (Fondo de Investigación Sanitaria) from Spain’s Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs and by a doctoral thesis grant from the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine (Sociedad Española de Medicina Familiar y Comunitaria—Semfyc) in 2005.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no conflict of interest.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Menéndez-Villalva, C., Gamarra-Mondelo, M., Alonso-Fachado, A. et al. Social network, presence of cardiovascular events and mortality in hypertensive patients. J Hum Hypertens 29, 417–423 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2014.116
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/jhh.2014.116
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Social vulnerabilities as risk factor of childhood obesity development and their role in prevention programs
International Journal of Obesity (2021)
-
Social Networks and Health Outcomes: Importance for Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in Cardiovascular Outcomes
Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports (2018)