Social Support Network and Sedentary Behavior Among US Adults With and Without Mobility Impairment

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Gerontology
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Sedentary behavior is a growing public health concern, particularly among older adults.
• Mobility impairment is often associated with increased sedentary time, but the role of social support is underexplored.
• Social support networks (SSN) may influence health behaviors, including sedentary time.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between social support networks (SSN) and sedentary behavior in US adults.
• To examine if this relationship differs between adults with and without mobility impairment.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2007-2008.
• Included US adults aged 40 years and older, with (n=962) and without (n=1393) mobility impairment.
• Sedentary behavior was defined as the upper quartile of daily sedentary time; SSN was assessed via self-reported emotional, financial, church, friends, and marital support.

Main Results:

• Among adults with mobility impairment, higher SSN scores were associated with lower odds of increased sedentary time (AOR 0.43).
• Among adults with mobility impairment, higher poverty-to-income ratio (PIR) was associated with higher odds of increased sedentary time (AOR 2.60).
• Among adults without mobility impairment, only higher PIR was a significant predictor of increased sedentary time (OR 3.59).

Conclusions:

• Higher social support network scores are linked to reduced sedentary behavior in older adults with mobility impairment.
• The protective association of SSN with sedentary behavior was not evident in adults without mobility impairment.
• Poverty-to-income ratio emerged as a significant predictor of increased sedentary time across both groups, underscoring socioeconomic factors.