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Social isolation, social support and loneliness as predictors of cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality
Rosanne Freak-Poli, Joanne Ryan, Johannes T Neumann, Andrew Tonkin, Christopher M Reid, Robyn L Woods, Mark Nelson, Nigel Stocks et al.. BMC geriatrics, 2021-12-13
Topic: Health services, long-term care and technology
Individuals with poor social health were 42 % more likely to develop CVD (p = 0.01) and twice as likely to die from CVD (p = 0.02) over a median 4.5 years follow-up. Interaction effects indicated that poorer social health more strongly predicted CVD in smokers (HR 4.83, p = 0.001, p-interaction = 0.01), major city dwellers (HR 1.94, p < 0.001, p-interaction=0.03), and younger older adults (70-75 years; HR 2.12, p < 0.001, p-interaction = 0.01). Social isolation (HR 1.66, p = 0.04) and low social support (HR 2.05, p = 0.002), but not loneliness (HR 1.4, p = 0.1), predicted incident CVD. All measures of poor social health predicted ischemic stroke (HR 1.73 to 3.16). Among healthy older adults, social isolation and low social support may be more important than loneliness as cardiovascular risk factors. Social health domains should be considered in future CVD risk prediction models.
Key findings
- Individuals with poor social health were 42 % more likely to develop CVD (p = 0.01) and twice as likely to die from CVD (p = 0.02) over a median 4.5 years follow-up.
- Interaction effects indicated that poorer social health more strongly predicted CVD in smokers (HR 4.83, p = 0.001, p-interaction = 0.01), major city dwellers (HR 1.94, p < 0.001, p-interaction=0.03), and younger older adults (70-75 years; HR 2.12, p < 0.001, p-interaction = 0.01).
- Social isolation (HR 1.66, p = 0.04) and low social support (HR 2.05, p = 0.002), but not loneliness (HR 1.4, p = 0.1), predicted incident CVD.
- All measures of poor social health predicted ischemic stroke (HR 1.73 to 3.16).
- Among healthy older adults, social isolation and low social support may be more important than loneliness as cardiovascular risk factors.
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Study details
- Effect sizeHR 4.83; HR 1.94; HR 2.12
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 46/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 26 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 46 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (BMC geriatrics) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2021 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 3 / 3 | Effect reported with a statistic (interval, p-value, ratio or similar) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 34922471) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 26 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 26 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 46 out of 100. |
| Total | 46 / 100 | — |
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APA 7th
Freak-Poli, R., Ryan, J., Neumann, J. T., Tonkin, A., Reid, C. M., Woods, R. L., et al. (2021). Social isolation, social support and loneliness as predictors of cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality. BMC geriatrics. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02602-2
Vancouver
Freak-Poli R, Ryan J, Neumann JT, Tonkin A, Reid CM, Woods RL, et al. Social isolation, social support and loneliness as predictors of cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality. BMC geriatrics. 2021. doi:10.1186/s12877-021-02602-2. PMID: 34922471.
BibTeX
@article{freakpoli2021-34922471,
author = {Freak-Poli, Rosanne and Ryan, Joanne and Neumann, Johannes T and Tonkin, Andrew and Reid, Christopher M and Woods, Robyn L and Nelson, Mark and Stocks, Nigel and others},
title = {{Social isolation, social support and loneliness as predictors of cardiovascular disease incidence and mortality}},
journal = {BMC geriatrics},
year = {2021},
doi = {10.1186/s12877-021-02602-2},
pmid = {34922471},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02602-2}
}