Health Consequences of Spousal Health Shocks: Evidence from a Matched Event Study in the United States

Major disease diagnoses can create shocks that ripple through households. Population-level evidence in the U.S. on how spouses and partners fare after a partner's major diagnosis remains sparse and is often limited to caregivers or employment-related outcomes. Using the U.S. Health and Retirement Study (1992-2020), we evaluated population-level health spillovers to spouses after a partner's first diagnosis of cancer, stroke, or heart disease, using a stacked event-study design with matching (n = 29 166). Outcomes included subjective health, doctor-diagnosed conditions, limitations in basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL/IADL), and health behaviors and preventive care use. We evaluated heterogeneity by sociodemographic and economic conditions. Partners of newly diagnosed patients experienced modest but persistent deterioration: more frequent reports of poor health ( $\boldsymbol{\beta}$=0.02, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.00, 0.03), more doctor-diagnosed conditions ( $\boldsymbol{\beta}$=0.05, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.08) and higher depressive symptoms ( $\boldsymbol{\beta}$=0.08, 95% CI: 0.01, 0.16). Effects were larger for women partnered to men with a diagnosis and for spouses with lower education or fewer assets. Health and preventive-care behaviors were largely unchanged. Findings motivate early, spouse-focused support and underscore the need for targeted interventions for spouses at highest risk.