Does social isolation, social support or loneliness influence health or well‐being after a cardiovascular disease event? A narrative thematic systematic review

Identification of factors which influence health after a cardiovascular disease (CVD) event will assist with reducing the high health and economic burden of CVD. We undertook a systematic review to investigate the association between social health (lower social isolation, higher social support and l...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Health & social care in the community 2022-01, Vol.30 (1), p.e16-e38
Main Authors: Freak‐Poli, Rosanne, Hu, Jessie, Phyo, Aung Zaw Zaw, Barker, Fiona
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Anxiety disorders
cardiac rehabilitation
Cardiac surgery
Cardiovascular disease
Cardiovascular Diseases
depression
Drugs
Female
Health status
Humans
interpersonal relations
Loneliness
Male
marital status
medication adherence
Mental depression
Mental health
Narratives
Needs assessment
Patient compliance
Patients
Psychological distress
quality of life
Rehabilitation
residence characteristics
self‐care
social conditions
Social Isolation
Social Support
spouses
Symptoms
Systematic review
Women
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Summary:Identification of factors which influence health after a cardiovascular disease (CVD) event will assist with reducing the high health and economic burden of CVD. We undertook a systematic review to investigate the association between social health (lower social isolation, higher social support and lower loneliness) and health and well‐being after a CVD event among people living in Australia and New Zealand. Four electronic databases were systematically searched until June 2020. Two reviewers undertook title/ screen. One reviewer undertook full‐text screen and data extraction. A second author either independently extracted or checked data. Narrative thematic analysis was undertaken. Of the 752 unique records retrieved, 39 papers from 29 studies met our inclusion criteria. Included studies recruited between 10 and 1,455 participants, aged 12–96 years, and the majority were male. Greater social health was consistently associated with better mental health outcomes (lower depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms and psychological distress). Lower social isolation and higher social support were associated with the extent to which patient needs were being met. Living situation was not associated with mental health outcomes, and being married or living with someone was associated with greater medication adherence. Our systematic review demonstrates that greater social health is associated with better mental health outcomes and met patient needs among cardiac patients. As partner status and living status did not align with social isolation and social support findings in this review, we recommend they not be used as social health proxies when assessing health outcomes among CVD patients. Our review highlights the need for more research focused on women and the importance of gender‐disaggregated reporting. Further assessment is required to evaluate whether loneliness is associated with health and well‐being outcomes after a CVD event.
ISSN:0966-0410
1365-2524
DOI:10.1111/hsc.13427