International Journal of Epidemiology
Volume 43, Issue 6, 2014, Pages 1895-1920

Social capital, mortality, cardiovascular events and cancer: A systematic review of prospective studies (Article) (Open Access)

Choi M. , Mesa-frias M. , Nüesch E. , Hargreaves J. , Prieto-merino D. , Bowling A. , Smith G.D. , Ebrahim S. , Dale C.E.* , Casas J.P.
  • a Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
  • b Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom, Department of Social and Environmental Health Research, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
  • c Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
  • d Department of Social and Environmental Health Research, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
  • e Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
  • f Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
  • g MRC Centre for Causal Analyses in Translational Epidemiology, School of Social and Community Medicine, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
  • h Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom, South Asia Network for Chronic Disease, Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi, India
  • i Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom
  • j Department of Non-communicable Disease Epidemiology, Faculty of Epidemiology and Population Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom

Abstract

Background: Social capital is considered to be an important determinant of life expectancy and cardiovascular health. Evidence on the association between social capital and all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer was systematically reviewed. Methods: Prospective studies examining the association of social capital with these outcomes were systematically sought in Medline, Embase and PsycInfo, all from inception to 8 October 2012. We categorized the findings from studies according toseven dimensions of social capital, including social participation, social network, civic participation, social support, trust, norm of reciprocity and sense of community, and pooled the estimates across studies to obtain summary relative risks of the health outcomes for each social capital dimension. We excluded studies focusing on children, refugees or immigrants and studies conducted in the former Soviet Union. Results: Fourteen prospective studies were identified. The pooled estimates showed no association between most social capital dimensions and all-cause mortality, CVD or cancer. Limited evidence was found for association of increased mortality with social participation and civic participation when comparing the most extreme risk comparisons. Conclusions: Evidence to support an association between social capital and health outcomes is limited. Lack of consensus on measurements for social capital hinders the comparability of studies and weakens the evidence base. © The Author 2014; all rights reserved.

Author Keywords

cancer Systematic review cardiovascular disease Mortality Social capital

Index Keywords

prospective study immigrant social capital refugee neoplasm Cardiovascular Diseases Neoplasms human Prospective Studies priority journal social network comparative study USSR cancer social support Humans cardiovascular disease Trust life expectancy risk factor Article social participation mortality risk disease incidence systematic review mortality health monitoring
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84922351076&doi=10.1093%2fije%2fdyu212&partnerID=40&md5=925f7a3d69629869fc016f7d9d3f6153
DOI: 10.1093/ije/dyu212
ISSN: 03005771
Cited by: 31
Original Language: English