Lonely hearts don't get checked: On the role of social support in screening for cardiovascular risk

doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.09.002

Preventive Medicine

Volume 81, December 2015, Pages 202-208

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.09.002 Get rights and content

Highlights

•
Perceived social support was uniquely related to screening for cardiovascular risk.
•
Similar results for blood pressure and cholesterol screening
•
Individuals with sufficient social support were twice more likely to get screened.
•
Various demographic and health-related factors were related to screening adherence.
•
Study in probabilistic national samples in Spain

Abstract

Objective

Regular cardiovascular risk screening can prevent cardiovascular disease through timely implementation of lifestyle changes or medication. However, few studies have investigated what factors promote regular screening for risk factors like hypertension and high blood cholesterol. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between social support and adherence to cardiovascular risk screening.

Methods

We analyzed data from the Spanish National Health Survey—a cross-sectional representative survey conducted by the Spanish Ministry of Health in 2012 (N = 21,007). Participants reported whether they had their blood pressure and cholesterol levels measured by a health professional in the previous 12 months. Social support (i.e., the perception that emotional and practical support was available when needed) was measured with a validated scale. Multiple logistic regressions were conducted adjusted for demographic and health-related factors.

Results

Compared to individuals who reported a lack of social support, individuals who perceived sufficient social support were on average twice more likely to report participation in blood pressure screening, OR = 2.06, 95% CI [1.60, 2.66] and cholesterol screening, OR = 2.85, 95% CI [1.99, 4.09]. These effects were uniform across different demographics and were replicated in a previous wave of the survey. Factors associated with worse screening adherence were low social class, being single or widowed, smoking, alcohol consumption, and no history of cardiovascular risk.

Discussion

Perceptions of social support are positively related to cardiovascular risk screening adherence. Future research should investigate what type of social support most effectively increases screening participation among high risk populations.

Section snippets

Method

We obtained data from the adult National Health Survey (NHS) conducted by the Spanish Ministry of Health, Social Services and Equality, and the National Statistical Institute. The survey is a part of a periodic cross-sectional survey wave investigating health outcomes in Spanish citizens that is part of the European Health Survey project.¹

Results

Descriptive statistics are included in Table 1 and Tables 1S and 2S of the online supplement. The results of the logistic regressions are displayed in Table 2.

Discussion

We investigated the relationship between perceived social support and self-reported screening for cardiovascular risk in a survey conducted in probabilistic national samples in Spain. Across two types of cardiovascular screening, more perceptions of social support were related to higher odds of screening. Importantly, social support was a significant predictor of screening after accounting for relevant socio-demographic and health factors, and its influence was uniformly positive across

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Acknowledgments

Financial support for this research was provided by the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Spain) (PSI2011-22954 and PSI2014-51842-R to RGR and PSI2012-39292 to AC). The funding agreement ensured the authors' independence in designing the study, interpreting the data, writing, and publishing the report.

References (44)

I. Ajzen
The theory of planned behavior
Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process.
(1991)
S. Ashida et al.
Motivation for health screening: evaluation of social influence among Mexican–American adults
Am. J. Prev. Med.
(2010)
M.M. Byrne et al.
Cancer screening behaviors among smokers and non-smokers
Cancer Epidemiol.
(2010)
A. Domingo-Salvany et al.
Proposals for social class classification based on the Spanish National Classification of Occupations 2011 using neo-Weberian and neo-Marxist approaches
Gac. Sanit.
(2013)
F.T. Filippidis et al.
Association between cardiovascular risk factors and measurements of blood pressure and cholesterol in 27 European countries in 2009
Prev. Med.
(2014)
L. Fredman et al.
Cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, and screening mammography among women ages 50 and older
Prev. Med.
(1999)
I. Galán et al.
Clustering of behavioural risk factors and compliance with clinical preventive recommendations in Spain
Prev. Med.
(2006)
P. Greenland et al.
2010 ACCF/AHA guideline for assessment of cardiovascular risk in asymptomatic adults: executive summary
J. Am. Coll. Cardiol.
(2010)
F. Rodríguez-Artalejo et al.
Effectiveness and equity of serum cholesterol and blood pressure testing: a population-based study in Spain
Prev. Med.
(2003)
S. Sheridan et al.
Screening for high blood pressure: a review of the evidence for the US Preventive Services Task Force
Am. J. Prev. Med.
(2003)

S. Shiovitz-Ezra et al.

Social network type and health-related behaviors: evidence from an American national survey

Soc. Sci. Med.

(2012)

J.D. Allen et al.

The relationship between social network characteristics and breast cancer screening practices among employed women

Ann. Behav. Med.

(1999)

J. Barth et al.

Lack of social support in the etiology and the prognosis of coronary heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Psychosom. Med.

(2010)

J.A. Bellon Saameno et al.

Validity and reliability of the Duke-UNC-11 questionnaire of functional social support

Aten. Primaria

(1996)

W. Broadhead et al.

The Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire: measurement of social support in family medicine patients

Med. Care

(1988)

S. Cohen

Psychosocial models of the role of social support in the etiology of physical disease

Health Psychol.

(1988)

B.A. Fischer Aggarwal et al.

Physical activity as a potential mechanism through which social support may reduce cardiovascular disease risk

J. Cardiovasc. Nurs.

(2008)

M.P. Gallant

Social networks, social support, and health-related behavior

R. Garcia-Retamero et al.

Effective communication of risks to young adults: using message framing and visual aids to increase condom use and STD screening

J. Exp. Psychol. Appl.

(2011)

D. Golderberg et al.

A User's Guide to the General Health Questionnaire

(1988)

K. Honda et al.

Cognitive mediators linking social support networks to colorectal cancer screening adherence

J. Behav. Med.

(2006)

K.O. Hwang et al.

Structural social support predicts functional social support in an online weight loss programme

Health Expect.

(2014)

Cited by (10)

Current evidences and future perspectives in studying the links between social support and health: Towards a consideration of attitudes towards support network in health psychology
2017, Psychologie Francaise
La question du lien entre relations sociales et santé a depuis longtemps mobilisé les chercheurs en psychologie de la santé. Ce champ d’investigation est toutefois marqué par un certain flou concernant les notions étudiées et les outils utilisés, complexifiant la compréhension des mécanismes d’action du soutien social. Cet article propose de faire un état des lieux des connaissances actuelles dans ce domaine. La distinction entre les approches structurale, fonctionnelle et transactionnelle du soutien social est un préalable à la clarification et à l’opérationnalisation des concepts abordés, mais aussi à la modélisation des mécanismes en jeu. De nouvelles perspectives dans l’étude du soutien social doivent être envisagées afin de dépasser les approches classiques. L’étude des attitudes vis-à-vis du réseau de soutien constitue une voie stimulante pouvant apporter de nouvelles pistes de compréhension des effets du soutien social sur la santé, mais aussi d’applications dans la prise en charges des personnes vulnérables.
The issue of social relationships has been reliably related to health outcomes, and has drawn the attention of researchers in health psychology for a long time. This field of investigation is however marked by a lack of clarity in terms of both concepts studied and psychometric instruments. Hence, the conceptual and methodological basis of the aforementioned links is to be clarified in order to get a better understanding of the action of the effect of the social support's mechanisms. The aim of the present paper is to make an inventory of current knowledge in this field and consider future perspectives. The distinction between structural, functional and transactional approaches of social support is a prerequisite for the clarification and operationalization of concepts related to social support, but also modeling the mechanisms involved in the relation between social support and health. New perspectives in the study of social support should be considered to go beyond traditional approaches that focus primarily on perceived social support through the concepts of perceived availability and satisfaction. The study of attitudes towards support network is a challenging direction that can provide insights for understanding the effects of social support on health. These attitudes reflect people preconceptions and beliefs about seeking and receiving social support, their evaluations of the ability of their social network to provide assistance and their willingness to accept it. We also discuss the implications of these theoretical arguments for research on social support, as well as the potential applications for psychosocial care of vulnerable people that are apparent from this perspective.
Under-utilisation of noncommunicable disease screening and healthy lifestyle promotion centres: A cross-sectional study from Sri Lanka
2024, PLoS ONE
Factors influencing the decision to use state-funded healthy lifestyle centres in a low-income setting: a qualitative study from Sri Lanka
2023, BMJ Open
Psychometric properties of the Arabic version of the medical outcomes study social support survey in cancer survivors post-HSCT
2021, Mental Health, Religion and Culture
Psychosocial markers of pre-hospital decision delay and psychological distress in acute coronary syndrome patients
2020, British Journal of Health Psychology
Who does what the cardiologist recommends? Psychosocial markers of unhealthy behavior in coronary disease patients
2020, PLoS ONE

View all citing articles on Scopus

View full text

Lonely hearts don't get checked: On the role of social support in screening for cardiovascular risk

Highlights

Abstract

Objective

Methods

Results

Discussion

Section snippets

Method

Results

Discussion

Conflict of interest

Acknowledgments

Organ. Behav. Hum. Decis. Process.

Am. J. Prev. Med.

Cancer Epidemiol.

Gac. Sanit.

Prev. Med.

Prev. Med.

Prev. Med.

J. Am. Coll. Cardiol.

Prev. Med.

Am. J. Prev. Med.

Soc. Sci. Med.

The relationship between social network characteristics and breast cancer screening practices among employed women

Ann. Behav. Med.

Lack of social support in the etiology and the prognosis of coronary heart disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Psychosom. Med.

Validity and reliability of the Duke-UNC-11 questionnaire of functional social support

Aten. Primaria

The Duke-UNC Functional Social Support Questionnaire: measurement of social support in family medicine patients

Med. Care

Psychosocial models of the role of social support in the etiology of physical disease

Health Psychol.

Physical activity as a potential mechanism through which social support may reduce cardiovascular disease risk

J. Cardiovasc. Nurs.

Social networks, social support, and health-related behavior

Effective communication of risks to young adults: using message framing and visual aids to increase condom use and STD screening

J. Exp. Psychol. Appl.

A User's Guide to the General Health Questionnaire

Cognitive mediators linking social support networks to colorectal cancer screening adherence

J. Behav. Med.

Structural social support predicts functional social support in an online weight loss programme

Health Expect.