Social Support and Heart Failure: Differing Effects by Race

Abstract

There is a large body of research examining psychosocial correlates of heart failure (HF) including social support and social networks. There are also differences in progression and outcomes of HF and in the sources and functions of social support between Caucasian and African Americans. Although these factors have been studied independently and in some combinations with respect to cardiovascular diseases, the relationship of race to differing effects of social support on HF outcomes is unclear. This purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among social support, race and HF outcomes, and to determine the moderating effects of race on the relationship between social support and HF outcomes. Study Hypotheses: Social support will predict HF outcomes and race will moderate those relationships. Methods: This project was conducted as part of a larger study called BETRHEART examining stress and psychosocial predictors of HF worsening. Patients completed several measures of social network, social support, symptoms and functional status, including the Social Network Index, Interpersonal Support Evaluation List - Short Form, the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire, a functional assessment (the 6 Minute Walk Test), and information was collected on HF hospitalizations and death over the course of the study. Data analytic plan: Data was analyzed using linear regressions, ANCOVAs, and multilevel mixed models for the continuous outcome variables and logistic regressions for the dichotomous outcome variable of HF hospitalizations or death. Results: Functional and some Structural Support measures were related to outcomes except hospitalization. There were no differences between African Americans and Caucasians in Social Support, however there were inconsistent interactions partially supporting hypotheses for moderation effects of race on the relationships between social support and outcomes. Discussion: Social Support impacts outcomes and varies by race.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 11, 2015
Accession Number
AD1012799

Entities

People

  • Andrea Weiss

Organizations

  • Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Engineered Resilient Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cardiovascular Diseases
  • Cardiovascular Physiological Phenomena
  • Cardiovascular System
  • Disease Attributes
  • Ethnic Groups
  • Families (Human)
  • Health Services
  • Heart Diseases
  • Medical Personnel
  • Minority Groups
  • Myocardial Ischemia
  • Psychology
  • Regression Analysis
  • Social Psychology

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