 |
|
Marital Quality and Occurrence of the Metabolic Syndrome in Women
Wendy M. Troxel, MS;
Karen A. Matthews, PhD;
Linda C. Gallo, PhD;
Lewis H. Kuller, MD, DrPH
Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:1022-1027.
Background Marital status is associated with the early stages and progression of cardiovascular disease, an association that may stem in part from the influence of marital quality on metabolic factors. The objective of this study was to examine whether women reporting marital satisfaction are at reduced risk of developing the metabolic syndrome compared with other women.
Methods Four hundred thirteen middle-aged women from the Pittsburgh Healthy Women Study completed measures of marital status and marital satisfaction at baseline and 3 years later. Metabolic syndrome (diagnosed according to the criteria of the National Cholesterol Education Program) was assessed at baseline and at the last follow-up visit (an average of 11.5 years later).
Results Compared with maritally satisfied women, maritally dissatisfied (odds ratio [OR], 3.02; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.46-6.24), divorced (OR, 2.47; 95% CI, 1.02-5.97), and widowed (OR, 5.82; 95% CI, 1.88-18.03) women were significantly more likely to have the metabolic syndrome at follow-up. The differences between maritally satisfied women and dissatisfied (OR, 3.18; 95% CI, 1.42-7.15) and widowed (OR, 5.69; 95% CI, 1.70-9.04) women remained significant in the full multivariate model. The difference between maritally satisfied women and divorced women (OR, 2.35; 95% CI, 0.89-6.18) was reduced to marginal significance in the full multivariate model. Single (OR, 2.84; 95% CI, 0.84-9.64) and moderately satisfied (OR, 1.06; 95% CI, 0.35-3.21) women did not differ significantly from maritally satisfied women.
Conclusions Women in high-quality marriages are at lower risk of developing the metabolic syndrome. Social histories of patients should include assessment of marital quality.
Author Affiliations: Departments of Psychology (Ms Troxel), Psychiatry (Dr Matthews), and Epidemiology (Dr Kuller), University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa; and Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, San Diego, Calif (Dr Gallo).
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter
What's this?
RELATED ARTICLES
Adverse Health Behaviors and the Detection of Partner Violence by Clinicians
Megan R. Gerber, Michael L. Ganz, Erika Lichter, Corrine M. Williams, and Laura A. McCloskey
Arch Intern Med. 2005;165(9):1016-1021.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Reduction of Alcohol Consumption by Brief Alcohol Intervention in Primary Care: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis
Nicolas Bertholet, Jean-Bernard Daeppen, Vincent Wietlisbach, Michael Fleming, and Bernard Burnand
Arch Intern Med. 2005;165(9):986-995.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
|
Chronic Interpersonal Stress Predicts Activation of Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Signaling Pathways 6 Months Later
Miller et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2009;71:57-62.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Marital Quality in the Context of Mild Cognitive Impairment
Garand et al.
West J Nurs Res 2007;29:976-992.
ABSTRACT
Negative Aspects of Close Relationships and Heart Disease
De Vogli et al.
Arch Intern Med 2007;167:1951-1957.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Attachment Anxiety, Relationship Context, and Sleep in Women With Recurrent Major Depression
Troxel et al.
Psychosom. Med. 2007;69:692-699.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Depressive Symptoms and Stressful Life Events Predict Metabolic Syndrome Among Middle-Aged Women: A comparison of World Health Organization, Adult Treatment Panel III, and International Diabetes Foundation definitions
Raikkonen et al.
Diabetes Care 2007;30:872-877.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Happy Home and Health
DOC News 2005;2:14-14.
FULL TEXT
|
