Gender difference in the association between social support and metabolic syndrome in Japan: the ‘enkai’ effect?

Ai Ikeda · Ichiro I. Kawachi · Hiroyasu Iso · Manami Inoue · Shoichiro Tsugane

36 citations0/0 files storedJournal of Epidemiology & Community Health

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Health disparities and outcomes Diabetes, Cardiovascular Risks, and Lipoproteins Nutritional Studies and Diet

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Recent reports have found an association between social support and reduced prevalence of metabolic syndrome (or its components) in the West; however, no study has been carried out in Asian populations. METHODS: The authors examined 12,537 men and women who were part of the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study initiated in 1993. Perceived emotional support was assessed through questionnaire as receipt of confidant support and esteem support from family members or friends. Metabolic syndrome was defined based on the modified criteria of the American Heart Association/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (AHA/NHLBI) and International Diabetes Federation (IDF), while its components were obtained through health examinations conducted during the same year as the questionnaire. RESULTS: The authors found an association between social support and metabolic syndrome among Japanese men that was in the opposite direction to what has previously been reported in western studies. Among men, the multivariate ORs and 95% CIs for metabolic syndrome in the lowest versus highest level of social support was 0.75 (0.58 to 0.97) based on AHA/NHLBI criteria and 0.69 (0.51 to 0.92) based on IDF criteria. Among women, the authors found no association between social support and metabolic syndrome. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, men with higher social support appeared to engage in heavier drinking and also reported a higher fat intake pattern, both of which may increase the risk of metabolic syndrome mainly through overweight. Our findings lend weight to the notion that the pattern of association between social support and health outcomes is both culturally contingent and gender-specific.

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1996The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health.2001Baseline Survey of JPHC Study Design and Participation Rate 2003Coronary disease in relation to social support and social class in Swedish men A 15 year follow-up in the study of men born in 1933 2006Shutting Out the Sun: How Japan Created Its Own Lost Generation 2006Psychosocial Determinants of Coronary Heart Disease in Middle-Aged Women: A Prospective Study in Sweden 1999Social Relations and the Metabolic Syndrome in Middle-Aged Swedish Women

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