Bad Marriage, Broken Heart? Age and Gender Differences in the Link between Marital Quality and Cardiovascular Risks among Older Adults

• Published in: Journal of health and social behavior Vol. 55; no. 4; pp. 403 - 423
• Main Authors: Liu, Hui, Waite, Linda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications, Inc 01-12-2014; SAGE Publications; Sage Publications; American Sociological Association
• Subjects: Age; Age differences; Age Distribution; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Aging; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers; Blood pressure; Body mass index; C-Reactive Protein - analysis; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - physiopathology; Cardiovascular Diseases - psychology; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gender differences; Geriatrics; Happiness; Health across the Life Course; Health risks; Heart rate; Heart Rate - physiology; Humans; Hypertension; Hypertension - complications; Hypertension - etiology; Hypertension - psychology; Illness and personality; Interviews as Topic; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Marriage; Marriage - psychology; Medical sciences; Men; Middle Aged; Mortality; Older adults; Older people; Personal Satisfaction; Personality, behavior and health; Protective Factors; Psychology and medicine; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Regression Analysis; Risk Factors; Sex Distribution; Spouses; Stress, Psychological - etiology; Stress, Psychological - physiopathology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; United States; United States; United States > US; cardiovascular risks; marriage older adults; gender; age; Human; Marital relation; Sex; Cardiovascular disease; Stress cardiomyopathy; Gender; Social interaction; Follow up study; Sociodemographic factor; Risk factor; Adult; Marriage; Elderly; Age; older adults; marriage
• ISSN: 0022-1465; 2150-6000; 2150-6000
• DOI: 10.1177/0022146514556893

Working from a life course perspective, we develop hypotheses about age and gender differences in the link between marital quality and cardiovascular risk and test them using data from the first two waves of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project. The analytic sample includes 459 married women and 739 married men (aged 57-85 in the first wave) who were interviewed in both waves. We apply Heckmantype corrections for selection bias due to mortality and marriage. Cardiovascular risk is measured as hypertension, rapid heart rate, C-reactive protein, and general cardiovascular events. Results suggest that changes in marital quality and cardiovascular risk are more closely related for older married people than for their younger counterparts and that the link between marital quality and cardiovascular risk is more pronounced among women than among men at older ages. These findings fit with the gendered life course perspective and cumulative disadvantage framework.