Association between individual-level social capital and metabolic syndrome among middle-aged community dwellers in rural Vietnam

Introduction While social capital is linked to various health outcomes, its association with metabolic syndrome (MetS) remains underexplored, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) facing rising cardiovascular disease burdens. This study examines the association between social capital and MetS in Vietnam, a country undergoing rapid epidemiological and nutritional transitions. Research design and methods Data were collected from 2825 participants in the baseline survey of the Khánh Hòa Cardiovascular Study, a prospective cohort study of local residents aged 40–60 years in the Khánh Hòa province, Vietnam. Poisson regression models with robust variance estimator were used to assess the association between cognitive (low, middle or high) and structural social capital (yes or no) and MetS, as well as its individual components, with results stratified by sex. Results We found that 34.7% of male and 36.8% of female participants had MetS. Among female participants, those with high cognitive social capital had a lower likelihood of MetS compared with those with low cognitive social capital (prevalence ratio (PR)=0.84, 95% CI 0.72 to 0.97), while no significant association was observed among male participants. Regarding structural social capital, no association with MetS was observed in either sex. In analyses of individual MetS components, high cognitive social capital was associated with a lower prevalence of elevated blood pressure among females (PR=0.92, 95% CI 0.86 to 1.00). Conclusions Cognitive social capital was associated with lower prevalence of MetS among women in rural Vietnam. Further longitudinal studies are warranted to clarify causal pathways. Social capital may be important to consider in cardiometabolic health efforts in LMICs undergoing rapid socioeconomic change.