KINGSTON, Jamaica – A study evaluating the link between social support and ideal cardiovascular health (ICH) among urban Jamaicans has found that a high level of social support is associated with better cardiovascular health, reduced mortality, and overall more excellent quality of life.
The study, which involved 841 participants, 279 males and 562 females, with an average age of 47.6 years, was conducted by an epidemiologist and assistant lecturer at the Caribbean Institute for Health Research (CAIHR) at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Alphonso Blake.
Epidemiologist, Alphonso Blake
“My study is focused on looking at ideal cardiovascular health and how social support can help persons to attain these seven simple approaches to live with better health for longer,” Blake said, adding that ICH is built on the adage that ‘Prevention is Better than Cure, and that the American Heart Association (AHA) in 2010 identified seven components that will assist persons to live in better health, once they can achieve them.
The components are no smoking, body size having a body mass index of less than 25kg per meter squared, doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity daily, having healthy dietary practices, normal blood pressure, average glucose level, and a normal cholesterol level.
Blake, who received the Most Impactful Oral Presentation award at the National Health Research Conference 2021, told the JIS News that a cross-sectional study was conducted among Jamaicans living in urban areas within the South-East Regional Health Authority.
Socio-demographic data and information on the AHA-classified seven components of a healthy lifestyle were collected. Ideal cardiovascular health was defined as having optimal levels greater than or equal to five of these characteristics using the AHA definitions (ICH-5).
Social support exposure variables that were used to determine the levels of social support included several friends (network size), friends willing to provide loans (instrumental support), and friends giving advice (informational support).
Analysis was then used to create a social support score using the three variables. The association between ICH-5 and social support score was determined with Blake explaining the term social support and the identified connections.
“This looks at the perception that persons have of being cared for, being accepted by their friends, being provided for with assistance from people. These persons could be their family members, friends, church family, or work family.”
Blake said this is evident, especially during periods of stress or when someone works in a stressful environment.
“Persons can be chronically stressed, and people with higher social support (whether it’s the number of people they can call on, who can provide a loan, or the quality of these relationships) tend to be in better health than people with lower social support,” he said, noting that social support networks then act as a buffer during these periods.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines cardiovascular disease as an illness of the heart and the vessels. It is the leading cause of disease and death globally.
In Jamaica, it is one of the leading causes of death and illness, and data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) showed that it accounted for up to 6,000 deaths or 30 percent of deaths locally.
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