The Effect of Social Support for Metabolic Syndrome on Elderly in a City in Korea

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effect of social support on metabolic syndrome (MetS) among elderly population in a city in Korea. METHODS: A total of 352 people all over 60 years of age were analyzed from the data of the Korean Longitudinal Study on Cognitive Aging and Dementia. This study was started in 2010 and is in progress till date. We compared the documented diagnoses of MetS and Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey at the baseline of the study and two years later. RESULTS: 315 were normal, 37 were developed after two years among subjects without MetS at baseline. When the level of social support was compared at baseline and then at the time of the reassessment two years later, the level had increased in the normal group and the level had not significantly changed for the MetS group. The findings documented at the two year mark indicate that the higher and stronger the level of social support, the lower the risk of developing MetS (odds ratio=0.053, p=0.040). CONCLUSION: The elderly with good social support are noted to be at lower risk in developing MetS as opposed to those with poor social support. It is apparent that adequate social support shows reduced prevalence of MetS among the elderly. Methods to identify strategies in improving social support networks are needed to expand public health resources and to better accommodate the community-based care of the elderly.