Social support and its influence factors among aged patients with diabetes mellitus in urban area of Yinchuan

Objective To study the condition of social support and its influence factors among aged diabetic patients in urban area of Yinchuan city,Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.Methods The individual general status and the condition of social supportere investigatedith a questionnaire survey among 208 aged diabetic patients.Results The score of objective support (7.78±2.49),subjective support (20.74±336),utilization of support(7.12±2.70),and the total social support score(35.63±6.27) of the patientsere all lower than those of national norms(12.68±3.47,23.81±4.75,9.38±2.40,44.34±8.38)ith significant differences(P< 0.05).Comparedith theidowed,the married patients had higher scores in objective support (8.24±2.17),subjective support (21.26±3.45),and the total score (36.76±5.68) (P<0.05).The scores of utilization of support were different among the old patients with different education levels(F=2.616,P=0.036).The score of objective support (F=12.278,P=0.000),subjective support(F=3.229,P=0.013),and the total score (F=7.686,P=0.000)ere different among the old patientsith different living condition.The score of subjective support had statistically significant difference among the patientsith different kinds ofork before retirement (F=2.773,P=0.043).The socre of objective support was different for the patients with different monthly income (F=3.864,P=0.023).Conclusion The condition of social support of aged patients with diabetes mellitus is closely related to marriage,education level,living condition,and monthly income.The patients beingith low-income,widowed and living alone should have more social support.