Abstract
BackgroundThe concept of social capital has received increasing attention as a determinant of population survival, but its significance is uncertain. We examined the importance of social capital on survival in a population study while focusing on gender differences.MethodsWe used data from a Danish regional health survey with a five-year follow-up period, 2007–2012 (n = 9288, 53.5% men, 46.5% women). We investigated the association between social capital and all-cause mortality, performing separate analyses on a composite measure as well as four specific dimensions of social capital while controlling for covariates. Analyses were performed with Cox proportional hazard models by which hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals were calculated.ResultsFor women, higher levels of social capital were associated with lower all-cause mortality regardless of age, socioeconomic status, health, and health behaviour (HR = 0.586, 95% CI = 0.421-0.816) while no such association was found for men (HR = 0.949, 95% CI = 0.816-1.104). Analysing the specific dimensions of social capital, higher levels of trust and social network were significantly associated with lower all-cause mortality in women (HR = 0.827, 95% CI = 0.750-0.913 and HR = 0.832, 95% CI = 0.729-0.949, respectively). For men, strong social networks were associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 1.132, 95% CI = 1.017-1.260). Civic engagement had a similar effect for both men (HR = 0.848, 95% CI = 0.722-0.997) and women (HR = 0.848, 95% CI = 0.630-1.140).ConclusionsWe found differential effects of social capital in men compared to women. The predictive effects on all-cause mortality of four specific dimensions of social capital varied. Gender stratified analysis and the use of multiple indicators to measure social capital are thus warranted in future research.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/1471-2458-14-1025) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
The concept of social capital has received increasing attention as a determinant of population survival, but its significance is uncertain
We examined the association between individual-level social capital and all-cause mortality in a Danish follow-up study, paying special attention to gender differences
No association was found between men’s social capital and mortality (HR = 0.909, 95% CI = 0.784-1.053), whereas for women, higher levels of social capital were significantly associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality (HR = 0.526, 95% CI = 0.404-0.687)
Summary
The concept of social capital has received increasing attention as a determinant of population survival, but its significance is uncertain. We examined the importance of social capital on survival in a population study while focusing on gender differences. It has been argued that social capital is of profound importance for determining the effectiveness of community-based health promotion programmes [4] as well as a central element in the psychosocial explanation of health inequities [5,6]. A Spanish cohort study showed that higher social participation and stronger social networks had a positive effect on survival [12]. An Australian study showed that strong social networks were positively associated with higher survival. This study solely included people aged 70 or older [13]
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