Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40098050›Full record

ArticleBMC global and public health2025

Association between social capital and mortality among community-dwelling older adults in Myanmar 2018-2022: a prospective cohort study.

Yuka Ohaku, Yuki Shirakura, Yuiko Nagamine, Yuri Sasaki, Daisuke Takagi, Ikuma Nozaki, Than Win Nyunt, Reiko Saito, Yugo Shobugawa

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC global and public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Yuka OhakuDivision of International Health (Public Health), Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Yuki ShirakuraDepartment of Active Ageing, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Yuiko NagamineDepartment of Public Health, Institute of Science Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Yuri SasakiDepartment of Public Health Policy, National Institute of Public Health, Saitama, Japan.
Daisuke TakagiDepartment of Health and Social Behavior, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Ikuma NozakiBureau of International Health Cooperation, National Center for Global Health and Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Than Win NyuntDepartment of Geriatric Medicine, University of Medicine 1, Yangon, Yangon, Myanmar.
Reiko SaitoDivision of International Health (Public Health), Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan.
Yugo ShobugawaDepartment of Active Ageing, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Japan. yugo@med.niigata-u.ac.jp.

Funding

Grants in aid for Health and Labor Administration Promotion Research Project 20BA2002Grants in aid of Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 19K19472Grants in aid of Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 21K18453WHO Centre for Health Development WHO Kobe Centre-WKC: K18015
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHealthy aging is crucial in Asia given its rapidly aging society. Social capital, which refers to the resources derived from social networks, norms, and trust that facilitate cooperation and collective action within a community or society, has demonstrated health benefits for older adults. However, its impact varies by country. Most research focuses on high-income countries, with little attention on low- and middle-income countries.

methodsThis prospective cohort study examined the effects of social capital on all-cause mortality among older adults in Myanmar from 2018 to 2022, using structured questionnaires based on the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. Multistage random sampling and face-to-face interviews were conducted with community-dwelling older adults aged 60 and above in Yangon and Bago in 2018. Subsequently, three waves of follow-up telephone surveys were conducted in 2020, 2021, and 2022. The questionnaires evaluated three components of social capital: civic participation, social cohesion, and social support, alongside baseline demographic information. Their impact on all-cause mortality was assessed using the Cox proportional hazards model with multiple imputations, adjusting for potential confounders including age, gender, body mass index, self-rated health, socioeconomic status, lifestyle, illness, and residential area.

resultsA total of 1200 individuals were followed for an average of 2.6 years (3123 person-years), with 143 all-cause deaths observed among 1031 participants. Bivariate analyses showed that participants who died were more likely to be older, underweight, have shorter daily walking times, live in Bago, and have less social support. Higher social support was significantly associated with lower mortality after adjusting for all covariates (HR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.69-0.94). Specifically, instrumental support, defined as the exchange of practical assistance, such as receiving or providing care during illness, was found to be protectively associated with mortality. When stratified by residential area, significant associations were found only in Bago, a rural area. Among older adults in Myanmar, instrumental support was a more prominent protector against all-cause mortality than emotional support, especially in rural areas.

conclusionsOur findings indicate that social support networks play an important role in the survival of older adults in Myanmar, even under unstable social conditions.

Indexed as

Healthy agingMortalityMyanmarSocial capitalSocial support

Identifiers

PMID40098050
PMCPMC11912608

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.