The association between perceived social support and glycemic status transitions: a 3-year longitudinal study of Iranian adults

This three-year longitudinal study investigates the association of Perceived Social Support and its subscales with changes in blood-glucose status among Iranian adults. In a three-year cohort of 1,458 Iranian adults, perceived social support was measured with the 12-item Iranian version of Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), capturing family, friend and significant-other subscales. Glycemic status was classified as normal, pre-diabetes or diabetes. Multiple multinomial logistic regression models were used to analyze the association between changes in perceived social support scores and transitions in Glycemic status. The results showed that the proportion of individuals with normal glycemic status decreasing over time in both sexes (8.72% in men, 5.72% in women). Throughout follow-up, both men and women reported their highest perceived social support from family and the lowest from friends, with overall support scores rising in both sexes. Fully adjusted analyses showed that each one-unit increase in significant other support was associated with a lower risk of progressing from pre-diabetes to diabetes in all participants (OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.88, 1.00). In addition, increased family support in men was associated with a lower risk of progressing from normal to abnormal glycemic status (OR = 0.93, 95% CI: 0.87, 0.99). Tailoring interventions to individuals’ glycemic status and reinforcing the most influential sources of perceived social support may help preserve a larger normoglycaemic population.