Is level of social support associated with health behaviours modifying cardiovascular risk? Results of the WOBASZ study.

Background: Psychosocial risk factors affected the human health both by autonomic, neuroendocrine and immunological mechanisms and by the influence on human lifestyle. Lack of social support can reflect the person's lifestyle to more unhealthy.

Aim: To assess if low, compared to high social support level (SSL), contributes to the unhealthy lifestyle in Polish general population.

Methods: The random sample of Polish population of 6164 men and 6915 women, aged 20-74, filled-in the Berkman and Syme questionnaire in 2003-2005 in the frame of National Multicenter Health Survey (WOBASZ).

Results: 31% of men and 39% of women had low SSL and they more often had high cardiovascular risk, depressive symptoms and cardiovascular disease risk factors, especially women. Men and women with low SSL more often smoked cigarettes than those with high SSL, rarely try to quit smoking, made regular physical activity, and rarely self-measured their blood pressure. Additionally men more often drank alcohol ≥ 30.0 g/day. They also more often did not take the prescribed medication, although they bought them. Out of unhealthy elements, lack of regular physical activity and blood pressure self-measuring were significantly and independently associated with SSL in both genders and additionally smoking habit and lack of quit smoking in the past in women.

Conclusions: Persons with low SSL had more unhealthy lifestyle than those without. In Polish population the low SSL played a greater role in creating the cardiovascular risk in women than in men.