Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
J Epidemiol Community Health. 2011 Jan;65(1):71-7. doi: 10.1136/jech.2009.090613. Epub 2009 Nov 22.
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.
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.
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.
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.
最近的报告发现，社会支持与代谢综合征（或其成分）在西方的患病率降低之间存在关联；然而，在亚洲人群中尚未进行过研究。
作者检查了 12537 名男性和女性，他们是 1993 年启动的日本公共卫生中心前瞻性研究的一部分。通过问卷调查评估感知到的情感支持，包括从家庭成员或朋友那里获得的知己支持和尊重支持。代谢综合征根据美国心脏协会/美国国立心肺血液研究所（AHA/NHLBI）和国际糖尿病联合会（IDF）的改良标准定义，而其成分则通过同年进行的健康检查获得。
作者发现社会支持与日本男性代谢综合征之间存在关联，这种关联与西方先前报道的结果相反。在男性中，根据 AHA/NHLBI 标准，社会支持最低与最高水平之间代谢综合征的多变量 OR 和 95%CI 为 0.75（0.58 至 0.97），根据 IDF 标准为 0.69（0.51 至 0.92）。在女性中，作者没有发现社会支持与代谢综合征之间存在关联。
在这项研究中，社会支持较高的男性似乎饮酒量更大，并且报告的脂肪摄入量模式也更高，这两者都可能通过超重增加代谢综合征的风险。我们的研究结果支持这样一种观点，即社会支持与健康结果之间的关联模式既具有文化特殊性，又具有性别特异性。
