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Spousal metabolic risk factors and future cardiovascular events: A prospective cohort study

Azra Ramezankhani1, Kamran Guity2, Fereidoun Azizi3

  • 1Prevention of Metabolic Disorders Research Center, Research Institute for Endocrine Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

Atherosclerosis
|March 15, 2020
PubMed

Insights

Metabolic risk factors like obesity in a wife significantly increase her husband's risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). This association persists beyond individual risk factors, highlighting a shared health risk in marriage.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiovascular epidemiology
  • Public health
  • Marital health

Background:

  • Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality globally.
  • Shared lifestyle and environmental factors within a marriage may influence individual health outcomes.
  • The impact of spousal metabolic risk factors on incident CVD is not well-established.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the association between spousal metabolic risk factors and the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in married individuals.
  • To determine if the presence of metabolic risk factors in one spouse increases CVD risk in the other.
  • To analyze these associations separately for men and women.

Main Methods:

  • A cohort study of 4390 married participants (2152 men, 2238 women) free of CVD at baseline.
  • Cox regression models were used to estimate the association between spousal risk factors (BMI, waist circumference, blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, smoking) and incident CVD.
  • Models were adjusted for nested sets of covariates, including individual risk factors.

Main Results:

  • During a median follow-up of 16.1 years, 588 CVD cases were recorded.
  • Men whose wives were overweight or obese had a significantly increased risk of CVD (HR 1.41, 1.38) compared to men with normal-weight spouses, after adjusting for their own risk factors.
  • No significant associations were found between spousal metabolic risk factors and CVD incidence in women.

Conclusions:

  • Overweight and obesity in women are associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in their husbands, independent of the husbands' own risk factors.
  • These findings suggest a potential shared risk or influence of metabolic health within a marital dyad.
  • Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this spousal association.
Abstract

Keywords:
Cardiovascular diseaseObesityPrimary preventionSpouse

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