Study Shows Link Between Social Support And Cardiovascular Health

A high level of social support is associated with better cardiovascular health, reduced mortality and overall greater quality of life. This is one of the findings of a study conducted by Epidemiologist and Assistant Lecturer at the Caribbean Institute for Health Research (CAIHR) at the

University of the West Indies, Alphonso Blake. The main objective of the study was to evaluate the association between social support and ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) among urban Jamaicans.

In an interview with JIS News, Mr. Blake explained that ICH is built on the adage that ‘Prevention is Better than Cure’, and that the American Heart Association (AHA) in 2010 identified seven components that will assist persons to live in better health, once they can achieve them.

“My study is focused on looking at ideal cardiovascular health and how social support can help persons to attain these seven simple approaches to live with better health for longer,” Mr. Blake said.

The components are no smoking; body size-having a body mass index of less than 25kg per metre squared, doing at least 30 mins of physical activity per day, having healthy dietary practices, having a normal blood pressure, having a normal glucose level and having a normal cholesterol level.

Mr. Blake, who received the award for Most Impactful Oral Presentation at the National Health Research Conference 2021, explained that a cross-sectional study was conducted among Jamaicans living in urban areas within the South-East Regional Health Authority.

Socio-demographic data and information on the AHA-classified seven components of a healthy lifestyle were collected.

Ideal cardiovascular health was defined as having optimal levels of greater than or equal to five of these characteristics using the AHA definitions (ICH-5).

Social support exposure variables that were used to determine the levels of social support included number of friends (network size), friends willing to provide loans (instrumental support) and friends providing advice (informational support).

Analysis was then used to create a social support score using the three variables, and the association between ICH-5 and social support score determined.

Mr. Blake explained the term social support and the connections that were identified.

“This looks at the perception that persons have of being cared for, being accepted by their friends, being provided for with assistance from people. These persons could be their family members, their friends, their church family or work family,” he noted.

Mr. Blake further pointed out that this is evident, especially during periods of stress or when someone works in a stressful environment.

“Persons can be chronically stressed and people with higher social support (whether it’s the number of people they can call on, who can provide a loan or the quality of these relationships) tend to be in better health than people with lower social support,” he added, while pointing out that social support networks then act as a buffer during these periods.

The World Health Organization (WHO) defines cardiovascular disease as illness of the heart and the vessels. It is the leading cause of illness and death globally.

In Jamaica, it is one of the leading causes of death and illness, and data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) showed that it accounted for up to 6,000 deaths or 30 per cent of deaths locally.

The study involved 841 participants, 279 males and 562 females, with an average age of 47.6 years.