Abstract
Introduction:
There is mounting evidence linking social support to restorative health processes and favorable cardiovascular risk profiles. However, observational studies have yielded inconsistent findings on the associations of social support networks with cardiovascular health in Hispanic/Latino adults with diabetes. We examined the cross-sectional associations of structural social support and traditional cardiovascular disease (
CVD
) risk factors in a diverse sample of Hispanic/Latino adults with diabetes.
Hypothesis:
Persons with lower indices of social support will have higher odds of adverse CVD risk factors.
Methods:
This analysis included 2,994 adult participants ages 18-74 with diabetes from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos (HCHS/SOL—2008-2011). Select items from the Social Network Inventory were used to assess indices of structural social support, i.e., network size (number of children, parents, and in-laws) and frequency of familial contact. Standardized methods were used to measure diabetes and other CVD risk factors -- abdominal obesity, body mass index, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and smoking status. Multivariate regression was used to examine associations of structural support with individual CVD risk factors with demographics, acculturation, physical health, and psychological distress included as covariates.
Results:
There were no significant cross-sectional associations of structural support indices with abdominal obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, or smoking status. There was a marginally significant (OR: 1.05; 95% CI 1.00-1.12) trend toward higher odds of obesity in participants reporting a larger family unit (including children, parents, and in-laws) (
Table 1
).
Conclusions:
Structural social support was marginally associated with higher odds of obesity in Hispanic/Latino adults with diabetes. Alternate forms of social support should be further explored as potential markers of cardiac risk in Hispanics/Latinos with diabetes.