Heart failure patients who perceive a loss of their social roles, like caring for loved ones, tend to have worse outcomes. This suggests that social engagement should be included in their care plans.

Older people with heart failure who feel like they’ve lost their social role among friends and family are more likely to have worse health outcomes. This is what a new study in Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine found. The study looked at the ways in which social interaction can make these patients’ health worse.

This is the first study “to show a close association between the loss of perceived social role and long-term poor clinical outcomes in older heart failure patients,” remarks first author Dr. Satoshi Katano. “Our study highlights the real need to develop a management program that includes a social approach to the care of these patients.”

Ageing well

The social vulnerability has long been recognized as a danger to healthy aging. The loss of social networks, positions, and activities are all examples of social fragility.

Recent studies have shown that social frailty affects two-thirds of elderly individuals with heart failure and is associated with worse outcomes. However, it hasn’t been made obvious precisely why social frailty worsens prognosis, according to Katano. 

“To examine the aspects of social frailty that may contribute to poor outcomes, we measured social frailty using the Makizako questionnaire in over 300 heart failure patients over the age of 65 that were admitted to our hospital for care.”

The Makizako questionnaire is a reliable way to figure out how socially frail someone is. The questionnaire consists of five questions designed to assess the patient’s social network, daily life, and sense of self-identity. Two or more negative responses out of the five questions indicate social frailty.

“We found that a patient’s perceived social role, as well as their social frailty as a whole, was associated with long-term adverse clinical outcomes in older heart failure patients. In addition, both of these factors added to the likelihood of a negative prognosis,” adds the first author.

He says, “Our study followed patients for three years after their admission to hospital, which is much longer than previous studies that have only followed patients for up to a year. This enabled us to examine the long-term impact of social frailty on adverse clinical outcomes in older heart failure patients.”

Social component of post-care

The study was done in Japan. The researchers pointed out that social interactions can be different in different cultures, but it seems likely that social frailty will hurt the health of older people with heart failure in all societies. So, Katano thinks it’s important for aftercare to have a social component.

“The next important step is to develop programs to help older heart failure patients who have social frailty. Participation in domestic tasks and social activities such as engagement in meaningful volunteer activities that serve to help others, can all help to improve the perception of social role in older heart failure patients. These lifestyle changes will help older heart failure patients live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.”