Social Engagement and Use of Hypertensive Medication among Adults in China
Social
engagement (also social involvement, social participation) refers to one's
degree of participation in a community or society.
This
study's objectives were, first, to examine the association between social
engagement and the odds of taking hypertensive medications and treatment among
adults in China; and second, to explore the lifestyle and psychological
mechanisms underlying this association.
Data
were from the WHO Study on Global AGEing and Adult Health (WHO-SAGE), a
national survey of 11,046 participants aged 18 to 69 conducted in China in
2010.
The
key outcome was a dichotomous indicator of whether the respondent was taking
hypertensive medication or other treatment. A series of logistic regression
models were fitted to examine the research questions.
Higher
levels of social engagement were found to be associated with a lower odds of
taking hypertensive medication or treatment, and the association was stronger
for women than for men. Lifestyle factors (i.e. smoking and BMI) and perceived
overall life satisfaction were significant covariates.
Life
satisfaction helped explain some of the social engagement benefit for both men
and women and BMI only appeared to be a mediator for men. Being married was not
significantly associated with lower odds of taking hypertensive medication or
treatment in either men or women.
Social
engagement seems to be protective against hypertension for adult men and women
in China, although causation could not be determined in this cross-sectional
study. Psychosocial mechanisms are probably at work, but these vary by gender.
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