Partnership and mortality in mid and late life: Protection or selection?

Area of Science:

• Demography
• Sociology
• Public Health

Background:

• Understanding factors influencing mortality risk is crucial for public health.
• Partnership status is a known correlate of health outcomes and longevity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of partnership status on mortality in Spanish adults aged 65+.
• To differentiate between selection and protection effects of partnership on mortality risks.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a large dataset linking administrative registers and census data from Spain (2012).
• Employed exact matching methods to mitigate selection bias in partnership status.
• Evaluated gross and net effects of partnership on mortality.

Main Results:

• Protection effects of partnership on mortality decline with age but remain positive.
• Selection effects decrease more rapidly with age, becoming negative in advanced age.
• Protection effects are slightly higher for men, while selection effects are higher for women, particularly before age 65.

Conclusions:

• Partnership status influences mortality risk across the adult lifespan, with varying selection and protection effects.
• The interplay between selection and protection effects shifts significantly with advancing age.
• Gender differences exist in the magnitude of selection and protection effects related to partnership and mortality.