Background: Both social isolation and the metabolic syndrome are independently associated with greater than normal cardiovascular risk.
Design: A population-based cross-sectional study of middle-aged Swedish women.
Methods: The study group consisted of 300 healthy women (aged 31-65 years) who were representative of women living in the greater Stockholm area. Social isolation was measured by using a condensed version of the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List. Health behaviours were assessed and a full serum-lipid-level and haemostatic profile was obtained by standardized methods. The metabolic syndrome was defined as the presence of two or more of these components: fasting serum level of glucose > or = 7.0 mmol/l, arterial blood pressure > or = 160/90 mmHg, fasting serum level of triglycerides > or = 1.7 mmol/l or high-density lipoprotein < 1.0 mmol/l, or both, and central obesity (waist:hip ratio > 0.85 or body mass index > 30 kg/m2, or both).
Results: After adjustment for age, menopausal status, educational level, smoking, exercise habits and consumption of alcohol, the risk ratio for the metabolic syndrome for women in the lower compared with women in the upper social-support quartile was 3.5 (95% confidence interval 1.1-11.4), whereas that of women in the two middle quartiles was 2.2 (95% confidence interval 0.67-7.2; P for trend 0.02).
Conclusions: Social isolation was associated with the metabolic syndrome for these middle-aged women. The findings suggest that the metabolic syndrome and its components may be mediators of the reported association between social isolation and cardiovascular disease.