Abstract Body: Background: Social support has been associated with morbidity and mortality among adults with coronary artery disease, but its relationship to health status among adults with recent myocardial infarction (MI) is less well understood.
Objective: We examined the association between social support (ENRICHD Social Support Inventory [ESSI]) and health status (Seattle Angina Questionnaire [SAQ-7]) among a cohort of adults post-MI, overall and by sex. We hypothesized that higher social support would be associated with better health status and that the strength of association would differ by sex.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from an ongoing study examining the role of stress among adults with MI. Participants were ≥ 18 years old and had a MI within the last 3 months, defined by the Universal Definition. We conducted multivariate linear regression analyses to examine associations between ESSI score and SAQ-7 summary score, as well as SAQ domain scores for Physical Limitation (SAQ-PL), Angina Frequency (SAQ-AF), and Quality of Life (SAQ-QoL). We controlled for demographics (age, race, ethnicity, sex), clinical history (history of prior MI), and psychosocial covariates (Perceived Stress Scale 4 scores).
Results: The sample (n=156) comprised 37% women, and 67% identified as non-Hispanic White. Mean age was 59 years (standard deviation 13 years). Median [interquartile range] ESSI score was 28 [22.5; 32] and SAQ-7 score was 76 [56; 89], which did not differ by sex (p=0.25). After adjustment, ESSI was positively associated with SAQ-7 (β 0.6 [increase in SAQ-7 score per unit increase in ESSI score], 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.1-1.1], p=0.03) and SAQ-AF (β 0.5, 95% CI [0.5-1.0], p=0.03), but not SAQ-PL (p=0.07) nor SAQ-QoL (p=0.15).
In adjusted analyses stratified by sex, ESSI was more strongly associated with SAQ-7 in women than men (β 1.0, 95% CI [0.2-1.9], p=0.02 versus β 0.6, 95% CI [-0.1-1.2], p=0.08). Associations with SAQ-AF and SAQ-QoL were also stronger in women than men (β 0.9, 95% CI [0.1-1.7], p=0.03 versus β 0.4, 95% CI [-0.2-1.0], p=0.19 and β 1.3, 95% CI [0.2-2.5], p=0.02 versus β 0.5, 95% CI [-0.6-1.5], p=0.38, respectively).
Conclusions: We found that higher social support is associated with better health status in adults post-MI, and this relationship is stronger in women compared to men. Results suggest that screening for low social support and identifying strategies to bolster it may benefit recovery post-MI.