Gender Differences in the Role of Social Support for Hypertension Prevention in Canada: A Population-Based Cross-Sectional Study of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging Cohort

BACKGROUND: The relationship between social support and hypertension is poorly understood in women and men. We investigated whether multiple measures of social support are linked to blood pressure levels differentially by gender. METHODS: Cross-sectional study of 28,779 middle-age and older-age adults (45-85 years) in the baseline Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging comprehensive cohort. Stratified multivariable regression models estimated the role and relative contribution of 4 types of support to blood pressure in women and men. RESULTS: The highest levels of perceived availability of informational, tangible, emotional, and belonging support were significantly associated with the lowest mean level of systolic blood pressure (SBP) but not diastolic blood pressure, independent of known confounders and other support types. However, associations were small, and their directions were more consistent in women. The lowest levels of informational support, relative to the highest, were associated with higher odds of hypertension in women (odds ratio [OR] = 1.20 [95% confidence interval {CI}: 1.06, 1.36]), more so than in men (OR = 1.16 [95% CI: 1.03, 1.32]). The lowest levels of emotional support were similarly associated with the odds of hypertension (OR = 1.08 [95% CI: 1.00, 1.17] in women and OR = 1.08 [95% CI: 1.00, 1.15] in men), relative to the highest. Larger differences in mean SBP in women, compared with men, were seen for informational support (2.43 and 1.18 mm Hg, respectively) and emotional support (1.60 and 0.74 mm Hg, respectively). Findings were unaltered by sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Informational and emotional support were inversely associated with SBP, more so in women than men. Further longitudinal investigation is warranted, as results suggest that specific supports may help prevent hypertension and lower cardiovascular risk, especially in women.