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Within- and cross-mental health disorder correlations in husband-and-wife pairs

Ray M Merrill1

  • 1Department of Public Health, College of Life Sciences, Brigham Young University, 2063 Life Sciences Building, Provo, UT, 84602, USA. Ray_Merrill@byu.edu.

BMC Psychiatry
|December 5, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Spouses of individuals with mental health disorders, particularly serious conditions like schizophrenia, experience higher rates of stress, anxiety, and depression. These findings highlight significant within- and cross-disorder correlations in married couples.

Area of Science:

  • Psychiatry
  • Public Health
  • Sociology

Background:

  • Mental health disorders significantly impact relationships and are heritable.
  • A notable prevalence of mental illness exists in spouses of individuals with mental health conditions.
  • Understanding these correlations is crucial for family well-being.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess within- and cross-mental health disorder correlations in husband-and-wife pairs.
  • To quantify the increased risk of mental health issues in spouses based on the partner's diagnosis.
  • To investigate the influence of specific mental illnesses on spousal mental health.

Main Methods:

  • Cross-sectional study utilizing medical claims data (DMBA) and employee eligibility files (2020).
  • Analysis of 21,027 contract holders (aged 18-64) and sub-analyses on 16,543 married individuals.
  • Calculation of adjusted rates and rate ratios for stress, anxiety, and depression in spouses.

Main Results:

  • Spouses of contract holders showed rates of stress (19.2%), anxiety (26.4%), and depression (23.6%) mirroring the contract holder's condition.
  • The highest rates of spousal mental illness occurred when the contract holder had schizophrenia.
  • Spousal mental illness rates were generally higher for wives of male contract holders compared to husbands of female contract holders.

Conclusions:

  • Mental health disorders in spouses are elevated when the contract holder has a mental health disorder, especially severe ones.
  • Significant within- and cross-disorder correlations were observed between partners.
  • Findings have implications for relationship quality and the mental health of offspring.
Abstract

Keywords:
AgeEmployee healthMental disordersSleep disordersSpouse

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