Direct social support and long-term health among middle-aged and older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Nicklett EJ, Heisler ME, Spencer MS, Rosland AM. Direct social support and long-term health among middle-aged and older adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences. 2013 Nov 1; 68(6):933-43.

Related HSR&D Project(s)

• CDA 10-209 – Effectively Involving Diabetes Caregivers in the VA Medical Home

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions

Search for Abstract from PubMed

---

Abstract:

OBJECTIVES: This study examined whether or not direct social support is associated with long-term health among middle-aged and older adults with diabetes mellitus. METHOD: Direct social support was assessed at baseline (2003) for 1,099 adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus from the Health and Retirement Study. Self-reported health status was examined at baseline and in 4 biennial survey waves (2003-2010). A series of ordinal logistic regression models examined whether or not the 7-item Diabetes Care Profile scale was associated with a subsequent change in health status over time. Additional analyses examined whether or not individual components of direct social support were associated with health status change. RESULTS: After adjusting for baseline covariates, greater direct social support as measured by the Diabetes Care Profile was associated with improved health outcomes over time; however, this trend was not significant (p = .06). The direct social support measures that were associated with improved health over follow-up were support for taking medicines (odds ratio [OR] = 1.22), physical activity (OR = 1.26), and going to health care providers (OR = 1.22; all p < .05). DISCUSSION: Interventions that specifically target improving specific aspects of diabetes social support may be more effective in improving long-term health than less targeted efforts.