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Effects of Cardiovascular Health Shocks on Spouses' Work and Earnings: A National Study
Sung-Hee Jeon1, Michael Stepner2, Michelle Rotermann1
1Statistics Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Insights
This study examined the impact of acute myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiac arrest on spousal earnings. Cardiovascular health shocks did not significantly affect overall spousal income, though severe strokes showed some work cessation in partners.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Health
- Labor Economics
- Health Shocks
Background:
- Acute health shocks can impair survivors' work and earning capacity.
- The economic consequences for spouses are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the influence of acute myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiac arrest on the work and earnings of spouses aged 35-61.
- To identify potential labor market effects on partners of individuals experiencing severe cardiovascular events.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective cohort study using linked Canadian income tax and hospitalization data (2005-2013).
- Compared annual earnings of spouses (case couples) with a partner experiencing a health shock to matched control couples.
- Analyzed pre- and post-event spousal income changes.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in spousal earnings distribution were observed between case and control couples for acute myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, or stroke.
- Spouses of severe stroke patients showed a higher rate of work cessation compared to control spouses.
Conclusions:
- Common cardiovascular health shocks did not demonstrate significant average effects on spousal earnings.
- While overall income impacts were minimal, severe strokes may lead to increased work cessation among partners.
Background:
Acute health shocks can reduce the ability to work and earn among working-age survivors. The full economic impact includes labor market effects on spouses/partners, but there is a knowledge gap in this area.
Objectives:
The objective of this study was to assess how 3 common health shocks, acute myocardial infarction, stroke, and cardiac arrest, influence work and earnings of spouses aged 35-61 years.
Research Design:
This retrospective cohort study of case and control couples used population-based, linked Canadian income tax and hospitalization data from 2005 to 2013.
Subjects:
Case couples comprised 1 partner aged 41-61 years who experienced a health shock in the index year and survived 3 years hence, and a working-age partner. Control couples were matched up to 5:1 on 12 characteristics, with neither experiencing the health shock of interest in the index year.
Measures:
Primary outcome was the change in spousal annual earnings between the year prior and 3 years after the event. Pre-to-post spousal income changes were categorized into 9 levels and compared between case spouses and control spouses by the Pearson χ test.
Results:
There were 11,208 matched case couples for acute myocardial infarction, 622 for cardiac arrest, and 2288 for stroke. Overall, case and control spouses experienced similar distributional changes in preevent to postevent earning (all P≥0.27). Heterogeneity analysis indicated that spouses of more severe stroke sufferers ceased working at a higher rate than for control spouses.
Conclusion:
Beyond assessing average values, detailed analysis of changes in spousal earnings after common cardiovascular health shocks did not demonstrate effects attributable to those health shocks.
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