Social Capital in Old People Living with HIV Is Associated with Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Study in China

Abstract

Objective. Old people living with HIV (PLWH) are experiencing a lower quality of life (QoL) than their younger counterparts and have received insufficient attention in China. Given that social capital has been proven to be effective in improving QoL in other countries, we aimed to examine the association between social capital and QoL among old PLWH in China. Methods. The data presented in this study was based on the baseline sample of an ongoing observational prospective cohort study, which was carried out from November 2018 to February 2019. Participants were old PLWH aged ≥50 in Sichuan, China, and were recruited by stratified multistage cluster sampling from 30 communities/towns. A total of 529 eligible participants finished the face-to-face investigation to measure their social capital (i.e., individual and family- (IF-) based social capital and community and society- (CS-) based social capital) and QoL. The QoL’s dimensions of physical health summary (PCS) and mental health summary (MCS) were taken as dependent variables. Stepwise linear regression models were used to examine the association between social capital and QoL. Results. After considering all significant covariates, the PCS was nonsignificantly correlated with IF-based social capital ( β = − 0.08 , 95% CI [-0.28-0.11]) and CS-based social capital ( β = 0.28 , 95% CI [-0.03-0.59]), and MCS was significantly correlated with IF-based social capital ( β = 0.77 , 95% CI [0.54-0.99], p < 0.001 ) and CS-based social capital ( β = 0.40 , 95% CI [0.08-0.72], p < 0.05 ). Conclusion. Targeted interventions related to building up social capital should be applied to improve the QoL of old PLWH. Providing extra relief funds and allowances might be helpful to improve PCS; improving community networking and engagement and improving family care might be helpful to improve MCS among this vulnerable population.

Intersectionality of stigmas and health-related quality of life in people ageing with HIV in China, Europe, and Latin America

“…Age 70 years or older was negatively correlated with PHS, but positively correlated with MHS. 71 HRQOL studies from Europe found that people ageing with HIV had lower scores in certain HRQOL dimensions than did people of similar age in the general population. Drewes and colleagues 27 found that MHS scores in older people with HIV from Germany were substantially lower than were those among counterparts from the general population.…”

“…70 A few studies examined the effect of social capital-the resources associated with having a network of relationships of mutual acquaintance or recognition-on HRQOL or mental health outcomes in people with HIV. [70][71][72][73] In the Sichuan Older HIV-Infected Cohort Study, which enrolled people with HIV aged 50 years and older, neither individual or family-based social capital nor community or society-based social capital was associated with PHS scores, whereas both were correlated with MHS scores. Age 70 years or older was negatively correlated with PHS, but positively correlated with MHS.…”

Association of Social Capital With Tuberculosis: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Analytical Study in South India

“…Social cohesion was higher among the treatment-completed PTB patients. Health outcomes would be improved through social cohesion by reducing the risk of infections and improving health awareness towards healthy behaviour and practices [ 18 , 19 ]. The geographical factor was a major factor as it increased social ties and maintained connection.…”

COVID-19 Lockdown and Social Capital Changes Among Youths in China

“…2 International Institute of Spatial Lifecourse Epidemiology (ISLE), Hong Kong, China. 3 Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, USA. 4 West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.…”

“…Social capital is defined as the access to and use of resources embedded in one's social networks, 1 which describes trust, solidarity, cooperation, and reciprocity. [2][3][4] The social networks and interpersonal relationships in social capital provide a useful framework for building a health-supporting and healthenhancing environment. 5 Sufficient evidence suggested that social capital is associated with better physical and mental health, mediates the association between socioeconomic inequities and health, 6 and serves as a protective factor against mortality.…”