Abstract
BackgroundSocial isolation is associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), but it is unclear which elements play a crucial role in this association. Therefore, we assessed the associations of a broad range of structural and functional social network characteristics with normal glucose metabolism, pre-diabetes, newly diagnosed T2DM and previously diagnosed T2DM.MethodsParticipants originated from The Maastricht Study, a population-based cohort study (n = 2861, mean age 60.0 ± 8.2 years, 49% female, 28.8% T2DM (oversampled)). Social network characteristics were assessed through a name generator questionnaire. Diabetes status was determined by an oral glucose tolerance test. We used multinomial regression analyses to investigate the associations between social network characteristics and diabetes status, stratified by sex.ResultsMore socially isolated individuals (smaller social network size) more frequently had newly diagnosed and previously diagnosed T2DM, while this association was not observed with pre-diabetes. In women, proximity and the type of relationship was associated with newly diagnosed and previously diagnosed T2DM. A lack of social participation was associated with pre-diabetes as well as with previously diagnosed T2DM in women, and with previously diagnosed T2DM in men. Living alone was associated with higher odds of previously diagnosed T2DM in men, but not in women. Less emotional support related to important decisions, less practical support related to jobs, and less practical support for sickness were associated with newly diagnosed and previously diagnosed T2DM in men and women, but not in pre-diabetes.ConclusionThis study shows that several aspects of structural and functional characteristics of the social network were associated with newly and previously diagnosed T2DM, partially different for men and women. These results may provide useful targets for T2DM prevention efforts.
Highlights
Social isolation is associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), but it is unclear which elements play a crucial role in this association
Less emotional support related to important decisions was associated with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in women, and both newly and previously diagnosed T2DM in men
Our results indicate that emotional support in important decisions, and practical support with small jobs and in sickness were important characteristics that should be addressed in T2DM prevention strategies
Summary
Social isolation is associated with type 2 diabetes (T2DM), but it is unclear which elements play a crucial role in this association. We assessed the associations of a broad range of structural and functional social network characteristics with normal glucose metabolism, pre-diabetes, newly diagnosed T2DM and previously diagnosed T2DM. The growing number of people with chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), is a rising problem in health care. There is raising interest for the role of social network characteristics in the development of T2DM [7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14]. Among individuals with T2DM, beneficial effects of social support have been reported on diabetes care [19], activation for self-management [20], and health/health-related behaviors [21]
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