Objective: To determine the relationship between social support and certain indicators of physical and mental wellbeing in older adults with type 2 diabetes.
Material and methods: We undertook a population-based cross sectional study of 705 adults with type 2 diabetes from the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). Participants were randomly selected from a list of diabetic patients located in the south of Mexico City. Physical and mental wellbeing were assessed through three indicators: 1) Health related quality of life (HRQL); 2) depressive symptomatology, and 3) glycemic control. Level of social support level was determined using the The Social Support Health Survey instrument. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the independent association of social support with the physical and mental wellbeing indicators, controlling for progression time, diabetes complications, co-morbidity and socio-demographic variables.
Results: High levels of social support were reported by 64% of participants. Social support and HRQL increased in direct proportion: the more social support a participant reported the less depressive distress and better fasting glucose levels they showed. The results maintained their significance in the four social support subscales, with the exception of affectionate and emotional or informational support subscales, which were not significantly correlated with fasting glucose. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that better levels of social support are associated with improved HRQL (beta = 0.12), less incidence of depressive symptoms (beta = -0.20) and lower fasting glucose (beta = -0.10).
Conclusions: Our findings suggest that greater levels of social support may improve certain indicators of physical and mental wellbeing in older adults with type 2 diabetes, regardless of the presence of diabetes complications and other chronic pathologies. Thus, promoting social support for the IMSS' diabetic patients could be a useful intervention.