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. 2015 Apr;27(3):403-31.
doi: 10.1177/0898264314551172. Epub 2014 Sep 23.

Social relationships and hypertension in late life: evidence from a nationally representative longitudinal study of older adults

Yang Claire Yang  1 , Courtney Boen  2 , Kathleen Mullan Harris  2
Affiliations

Social relationships and hypertension in late life: evidence from a nationally representative longitudinal study of older adults

Yang Claire Yang et al. J Aging Health. 2015 Apr.

Abstract

Objective: Social relationships are widely understood to be important for sustaining and improving health and longevity, but it remains unclear how different dimensions of social relationships operate through similar or distinct mechanisms to affect biophysiological markers of aging-related disease over time.

Method: This study utilized longitudinal data on a nationally representative sample of older adults from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (2005-2011) to examine the prospective associations between social integration and social support and change in systolic blood pressure (SBP) and hypertension risk over time.

Results: Although both social relationship dimensions have significant physiological impacts, their relative importance differs by outcome. Low social support was predictive of increase in SBP, whereas low social integration was predictive of increase in risk of hypertension.

Discussion: The different roles of relationship characteristics in predicting change in physiological outcomes suggest specific biophysiological stress response and behavioral mechanisms that have important implications for both scientific understandings and effective prevention and control of a leading chronic condition in late life.

Keywords: blood pressure; hypertension; longitudinal analysis; social integration; social support; stress response.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Social Integration, Social Support, and Predicted BP Outcomes with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI): Cross-sectional Associations at Wave 1
Note: Figures based on Wave 1 models that adjust for age, sex, race, and anti-hypertensive medication use; model estimates survey design adjusted and weighted to account for the probability of selection, with poststratification adjustments for nonresponse.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Social Support, Social Integration, and Predicted Change in BP Outcomes from Wave 1 to Wave 2 with 95% CIs
Note: Figures based on longitudinal models that adjust for age, sex, race, anti-hypertensive medication use, education, perceived social stress, depressive symptoms, smoking, physical activity, drinking, BMI, and diabetes; model estimates survey design adjusted and weighted to account for the probability of selection, with poststratification adjustments for nonresponse. Hypertension results reflect the predicted probability of hypertension at Wave 2 for individuals without hypertension at Wave 1.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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