A healthy balance: the ratio of social support-to-demands is associated with metabolic syndrome

AbstractMetabolic syndrome is associated with increased risk for negative health events, decrements in quality of life, and greater health costs. The current study sought to identify whether the ratio of social support to social demands across multiple relationship types (spouse, friends, children, or other family members) were associated with concurrent metabolic syndrome in a nationally representative sample of US adults ages 32 –40. Results indicate that the ratio of total social support to social demands was associated with a greater likelihood of meeting criteria for metabolic syndrome, even after statistically controlling for the effects of race, ethnicity, sex, age, income, and prior metabolic syndrome. When consider ing the relative contributions of each relationship type, greater support relative to demands from friends was the only relationship type that was significantly independently associated with lower likelihood of metabolic syndrome. Although not statistically significant, a trend-level negative associ ation with spousal support/demands emerged, as did a trend-level positive association with support/demands from children. Taken together, the current study reaffirms the relevance of considering social support and demands with regards to metabolic syndrome and highlights the ways in which specific r elationships may differentially relate to health risk.
Source: Journal of Behavioral Medicine - Category: Psychiatry Source Type: research