Association of Marital Status with Vascular Disease in
different Arterial Territories: A Population Based
Study of Over 3.5 Million Subjects
Carlos L. Alviar MD, Caron B Rockman MD, Yu Guo MA,
Mark A. Adelman MD, Jeffrey S. Berger MD MS
Leon H. Charney Division of Cardiology
NYU Langone Medical Center
New York, New York
The authors have no financial disclosures
Does marital status influence your
cardiovascular health?
•Prior studies have reported an interaction between marriage and health
•Cardiovascular disease, risk factors and outcomes vary by marital status.
•Limited available literature:
•Conflicting data
No worries,
according to scientist
despite the extra
pounds coming up,
your heart will be in
good shape!
•Smaller cohorts
•Data mostly on married vs. unmarried subjects
•Most studies focus on coronary disease only
Do the patterns of risk factors
and vascular disease vary by
marital status?
Jaffe DH et al . Ann Epidemiol 2007;17:540-7
Hadi Khafaji HA et al Clin Cardiol 2012;35:741-8
Marital Status Distribution
In the US (1950-2013):
Men
Women
In our cohort:
Men
Women
Divorced 6%
Divorced 10.5%
Widowed 5%
Widowed 18.2%
Never Married 9%
Never Married 8.1%
Married 80%
Married 63.2 %
www.census.gov/hhes/families/data/marital.html.
CV Risk Factors
Diabetes
140
120
100
80
60
Dyslipidemia
40
HTN
20
0
Cumulative Percentage (%)
Cumulative Percentage (%)
Comorbidities as Risk Factors
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
All
subjects
Single
Married Divorced Widowed
All subjects
100
80
Family history
60
Exercise
40
Obese (BMI>30)
20
0
All
subjects
Single
Married Divorced Widowed
Married
Divorced Widowed
105
Cumulative Percentage (%)
120
Single
Smoking Habits
Family history, Obesity and Exercise
Cumulative Percentage (%)
16
85
65
Never Smoker
45
Former Smoker
25
Current Smoker
5
-15
All
subjects
Single
Married Divorced Widowed
Risk of Cardiovascular Disease
By Marital Status
10
Any vascular disease Abdominal Aortic Coronary Artery
Disease
Aneurism
Cerebrovascular
Disease
7.1
5.1
Odds of disease (percetange)
5
Peripheral Arterial
Disease
6.2
4.6
3.2
2
0.3
1
0.4
1
0
-3.4
-5
-5
-8.7
-10
-8
Married
-15
Divorced
Widowed
-20
-19.4
*Single status used as reference
Conclusions
•In a very large contemporary cohort, being married was
associated with lower odds of cardiovascular disease when
compared to single
•Both widowed or divorced subjects had a higher prevalence
of cardiovascular disease than subjects who were single
•This association was demonstrated in both women and men
•The lower odds of any vascular disease in married subjects
were more pronounced at younger ages
•Further research in necessary to establish potential
explanation for the present findings
Here is the deal:
Stay married or
put yourself at
risk…