To examine the association between social relationships measured by the Social Network Scale and coronary artery disease (CAD) risk and mortality among a sample of women with suspected CAD.', 'Five hundred three women (mean age, 59 years) with suspected CAD warranting clinical investigation completed a diagnostic protocol including psychosocial testing, CAD risk factor assessment, and quantitative coronary angiography. Patients were subsequently followed for a mean of 2.3 years to track all-cause mortality.', 'Women reporting higher social network scores showed a consistent pattern of reduced coronary artery disease risk, including lower blood glucose levels (r = -0.11; p = .03), lower smoking rates (odds ratio [OR] = 0.81; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.71-0.93; p = .002), lower waist-hip ratios (r = -0.18; p < .01), and lower rates of hypertension (OR = 0.90; 95% CI = 0.81-0.99; p = .04) and diabetes (OR = 0.83; 95% CI = 0.73-0.94; p = .004). Based on quantitative angiogram findings, high social network scorers also had less severe CAD (mean angiogram stenosis value, 40.8 vs. 27.2 for low and high scoring social network groups, respectively; p < .001). Finally, mortality rates over follow-up showed a dose-response pattern in relation to quartile scorers on the Social Network Index, with low scorers showing more than twice the death rate of high scorers (relative risk = 2.4; p = .03).
Are social networks associated with lower mortality rates among women with suspected coronary disease : the National Heart , Lung , and Blood Institute-Sponsored Women 's Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation study?