Single Men & Women at Increased Risk of Heart Conditions

A study assessing records of over 3.5 million Americans reports that marriage associates with lower heart risks than for those who are single, divorced, or widowed.  Carlos L. Alviar from New York University Langone Medical Center (New York, USA), and colleagues  analyzed records from a database of more than 3.5 million people nationwide who were evaluated for cardiovascular diseases. Patients’ demographic information and cardiovascular risk factors were obtained, and researchers estimated the odds of disease by marital status after analyzing the presence of vascular disease in different blood vessel locations such as the coronary arteries, leg arteries, carotids and the abdominal aorta. Traditional cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, smoking and obesity were similar to the overall U.S. population, according to authors. Participants’ ages ranged from 21 to 102 years old, with the average age of 64, and 63 percent were female. Overall, 69.1 percent (2.4 million) were married, 13 percent (477,577) were widowed, 8.3 percent (292,670) were single; 9 percent (319,321) were divorced.  After adjusting for age, sex, race and other cardiovascular risk factors, researchers found marital status was independently associated with cardiovascular disease. These findings were consistent for both men and women across the four conditions.   In particular, married people were 5% less likely to have any vascular disease compared with singles. They also had 8%, 9% and 19% lower odds of abdominal aortic aneurysm, cerebrovascular disease and peripheral arterial disease, respectively. Being divorced or widowed was associated with a greater likelihood of vascular disease compared with being single or married. After multivariable adjustment, widowers had 3% higher odds of any vascular disease and 7% higher odds of coronary artery disease. Divorce was linked with a higher likelihood of any vascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular disease.   For people aged 50 and younger, marriage is associated with 12% lower odds of any vascular disease.