Marital status and gambling disorder: a longitudinal study based on national registry data

• Published in: BMC psychiatry Vol. 23; no. 1; p. 199
• Main Authors: Syvertsen, André, Leino, Tony, Pallesen, Ståle, Smith, Otto R F, Sivertsen, Børge, Griffiths, Mark D, Mentzoni, Rune Aune
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 28-03-2023; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Alcohol use; Behavior; Compulsive gambling; Divorce; Divorce - psychology; Gambling; Gambling - diagnosis; Gambling - epidemiology; Gambling disorder; Gender differences; Health services; Humans; Influence; Longitudinal Studies; Marital Status; Marriage; National identity; Population; Prevention; Psychiatry; Psychological aspects; Registry data; Relationship status; Risk factors; Routinely Collected Health Data; Social aspects; Social bonds; Social control; Social networks; Social organization; Norway; Divorce; Gambling disorder; Marriage; Risk factors; Registry data; Relationship status
• ISSN: 1471-244X; 1471-244X
• DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-04697-w

Marital status is a robust correlate of disordered gambling, but few studies have examined the direction of this association.
The present study used a case-control design by including all adults receiving their first gambling disorder (GD) diagnosis between January 2008 to December 2018 (Norwegian Patient Registry, n = 5,121) and compared them against age and gender matched individuals with other somatic/psychiatric illnesses (Norwegian Patient Registry, n = 27,826) and a random sample from the general population (FD-Trygd database, n = 26,695). The study examined marital status before GD, getting divorced as a risk factor for future GD, and becoming married as a protective factor of future GD.
The findings indicated an 8-9 percentage points higher prevalence of unmarried people and about a 5 percentage points higher prevalence of separation/divorce among those that subsequently experienced GD compared to controls. Logistic regressions showed that transition through divorce was associated with higher odds of future GD compared to illness controls (odds ratio [OR] = 2.45, 95% CI [2.06, 2.92]) and the general population (OR = 2.41 [2.02, 2.87]). Logistic regressions also showed that transition through marriage was associated with lower odds of future GD compared to illness controls (OR = 0.62, CI [0.55, 0.70]) and the general population (OR = 0.57, CI [0.50, 0.64]).
Social bonds have previously been shown to impact physical and mental health, and the findings of the study emphasize the importance of considering social network history and previous relationship dissolution among individuals with GD.