Yonsei Med J.  2024 Jun;65(6):363-370. 10.3349/ymj.2023.0455.

The Association between Social Support, Metabolic Syndrome, and Incidence of Cardio-Cerebrovascular Diseases in Older Adults: The ARIRANG Study

• Nam HK
• Chang SJ
• Kim CB
• Jeong KS
• Kim SK
• Kang DR
• Jeong YW
• Lee H
• Zhao B
• Koh SB

• KMID: 2555923
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2023.0455

Abstract

Purpose
We investigated the association between social support, metabolic syndrome, and incident cardio-cerebrovascular disease (CCVD) in rural Koreans aged ≥50 years.
Materials and Methods
We conducted a prospective study using the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study on Atherosclerosis Risk of Rural Areas in the Korean General Population (KoGES-ARIRANG) dataset. From the baseline of 5169 adults, 1682 participants were finally included according to the exclusion criteria. For outcomes, myocardial infarction, angina, and stroke were included. For independent variables, the social support score and metabolic syndrome were used. Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regression were performed to investigate the association among the variables. Paired t-test was conducted to analyze the longitudinal variation of social support scores.
Results
During the 6.37 years of median follow-up, 137 participants developed CCVD. The adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of metabolic syndrome with persistently high social support was 2.175 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.479–3.119]. The aOR of metabolic syndrome with persistently low social support was 2.494 (95%CI: 1.141–5.452). The longitudinal variation of the social support score of persistently high social support group was increased significantly by 4.26±26.32. The score of the persistently low social support group was decreased by 1.34±16.87 with no statistical significance.
Conclusion
The presence of metabolic syndrome increases the likelihood of developing onset CCVD. Within the metabolic syndrome positive group, when social support was persistently low, the cohort developed more cardio-cerebrovascular disease compared to the persistently higher social support group. The social support score of the persistently low social support group could be improved through proper intervention. To prevent CCVD, metabolic syndrome components and low social support should be improved in the study participants.

Keyword

Incident cardio-cerebrovascular disease; social support; metabolic syndrome; public health