Related Experiment Videos
Social relationships and myocardial infarction: a case-control study
C L Welin1, A Rosengren, L W Wilhelmsen
1Department of Internal Medicine, Ostra Hospital, Göteborg University, Sweden.
Insights
Social factors like emotional support and social activity are linked to myocardial infarction risk, independent of traditional biomedical factors. These findings highlight the need for further research into social determinants of heart health.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Psychosocial Health
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Growing evidence suggests psychosocial factors contribute to coronary heart disease development beyond biological risks.
- This study investigates the relationship between psychosocial factors and myocardial infarction within a specific population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the association between social relationships and nonfatal myocardial infarction.
- To explore the interaction between psychosocial and biomedical variables in myocardial infarction.
Main Methods:
- A case-control study comparing myocardial infarction patients (288 men, 55 women) with a population sample (283 men, 129 women) under 65.
- Social relationships assessed using a self-administered questionnaire.
Main Results:
- Men with myocardial infarction reported less perceived emotional support and social activity than controls.
- Women with myocardial infarction reported significantly less social activity.
- Perceived emotional support in men and social activity in both sexes remained significant predictors of myocardial infarction after controlling for traditional risk factors.
Conclusions:
- Perceived emotional support and reduced social activity are important factors related to myocardial infarction, independent of conventional biomedical risk factors.
- These social determinants of health warrant further investigation in prospective studies.
Background:
For more than 10 years there has been increasing evidence that not only biological risk factors are important for the development of coronary heart disease. The present study is one of a series of case-control studies in which a wide range of psychosocial factors in the same population have been analysed to obtain information on their relationship with myocardial infarction, and of the interaction between psychosocial and biomedical variables.
Methods:
The association between social relationships and nonfatal myocardial infarction was studied by comparing consecutively admitted male (n = 288) and female (n = 55) patients with myocardial infarction with a population sample of 283 men and 129 women. All participants were under 65 years of age. The social relationships were investigated by means of a self-administered questionnaire.
Results:
Men with myocardial infarction reported significantly lower perceived emotional support compared with their controls, as well as less social activity. Women with myocardial infarction reported significantly less social activity than their controls. There were no significant differences between cases and controls in social integration (number and frequency of social relationships and contacts). Neither did dissatisfaction with social relationships differ significantly between patients with myocardial infarction and controls. After controlling for traditional risk factors (smoking, hypertension, serum cholesterol level, diabetes) perceived emotional support remained significantly related to myocardial infarction in men, and so did the amount of social activity in both men and women.
Conclusion:
The importance of perceived emotional support and lack of social activity is amplified by the fact that they are related to myocardial infarction independently of conventional biomedical risk factors. These social factors should be studied further in prospective investigations.