2024-03-27 ミシガン大学
<関連情報>
- https://news.umich.edu/couples-with-similar-drinking-habits-may-live-longer/
- https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article-abstract/64/2/gnad101/7230161
米国における高齢夫婦のアルコール使用と死亡率: 個人効果とパートナー効果の証拠 Alcohol Use and Mortality Among Older Couples in the United States: Evidence of Individual and Partner Effects
Kira S Birditt, PhD; Angela Turkelson, MS; Courtney A Polenick, PhD; James A Cranford, PhD; Jennifer A Smith, PhD; Erin B Ware, PhD; Frederic C Blow, PhD
The Gerontologist Published:24 July 2023
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnad101
Abstract
Background and Objectives
Spouses with concordant (i.e., similar) drinking behaviors often report better quality marriages and are married longer compared with those who report discordant drinking behaviors. Less is known regarding whether concordant or discordant patterns have implications for health, as couples grow older. The present study examined whether drinking patterns among older couples are associated with mortality over time.
Research Design and Methods
The Health and Retirement Study (HRS) is a nationally representative sample of individuals and their partners (married/cohabiting) over age 50 in the United States, in which participants completed surveys every 2 years. Participants included 4,656 married/cohabiting different-sex couples (9,312 individuals) who completed at least 3 waves of the HRS from 1996 to 2016. Participants reported whether they drank alcohol at all in the last 3 months, and if so, the average amount they drank per week. Mortality data were from 2016.
Results
Analyses revealed concordant drinking spouses (both indicated they drank in the last 3 months) survived longer than discordant drinking spouses (1 partner drinks and the other does not) and concordant nondrinking spouses. Analysis of average drinks per week showed a quadratic association with mortality such that light drinking predicted better survival rates among individuals and their partners compared with abstaining and heavy drinking. Further, similar levels of drinking in terms of the amount of drinking were associated with greater survival, particularly among wives.
Discussion and Implications
This study moves the field forward by showing that survival varies as a function of one’s own and one’s partner’s drinking.
