Social relationships and mortality in patients with congestive heart failure.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the possible effects of social relationships (perceived social support, and perceived social isolation) upon mortality risk among patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). Proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the effects of different social factors on mortality among 119 clinically stable patients (71.4% men; mean age 65.7+/-9.6 years) with symptomatic heart failure, recruited from an outpatient cardiology practice. Twenty deaths were registered during the 24-month period of data collection, all from cardiac causes. Results indicated that social isolation was a significant predictor of mortality (relative risk, 1.50, confidence interval (CI), 1.00 to 2.19; P<.038), controlling for depressive symptoms, heart failure severity, and functional status and age. Perceived intimate network support was marginally significantly associated with increased risk of mortality in this population of CHF patients (relative risk, 0.60, CI, 0.35-1.02; P<.06). However, the sample is small and caution in drawing conclusions should be exercised. Further research is required in order to either deny or confirm these findings, and to illuminate the mechanisms behind the relationships between social isolation and mortality.