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October 12, 2007|Volume 36, Number 6


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Spouses follow suit in health
behaviors, study reveals

If one spouse exercises, quits smoking, stops drinking alcohol, receives a flu shot or undergoes a cholesterol screening, the other spouse is more likely to do the same, according to a new study in the journal Health Services Research.

“We found that when one spouse improves his or her health behavior, the other spouse was likely to do so as well,” says co-author Jody Sindelar, health economist and public health professor in the Yale School of Public Health. “This was consistent across all the behaviors analyzed and was similar among both males and females.”

Using longitudinal data on 6,072 individuals and their spouses from the Health and Retirement Study, the researchers found the changes in spouses’ health habits were most apparent in such behaviors as smoking and drinking, which is often spurred by outside cues, and in patient-directed preventive behavior, such as getting a flu shot.

For example, smokers were more than five times more likely to quit smoking if their spouse quit, when controlling for other relevant factors. Similarly, spouses were five times more likely to quit drinking alcohol if their partner didn’t drink. The changes were less apparent in clinician-directed preventive behavior, such as obtaining cholesterol screening.

Sindelar and co-author Dr. Tracy Falba, visiting assistant professor at Duke University’s Center for Health Policy, Law and Management, say health habits and use of preventive services should be viewed in the context of a family. They note that attempts to change behavior may be enhanced, or thwarted, by the behavior of family members, especially spouses. For this reason, they add, intervention programs should include tips about how to get the other spouse involved in exercise or help reduce tobacco cues.

The study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Institute on Aging.

— By Jacqueline Weaver


T H I SW E E K ' SS T O R I E S

New facility is place where ‘future of medicine’ can unfold

Facility balances researchers’ needs with environmentally friendly features

Alumnus’ gift supports ‘critical’ work at F&ES

Yale affiliates to exhibit photographs, games and paintings at art festival

Yale’s United Way fundraising goal set at $1.2 million


SCHOOL OF MEDICINE NEWS

Museum honorees to ponder ‘The Future of Life on Earth’

‘The Greening of Yale and Beyond’ is topic of symposium

Symposium to examine the intersection of faith and politics

‘21st Century Democracy’ is the theme of Law School reunions

IN MEMORIAM

Exhibit examines post-war effort to halt the spread of communism . . .

Campus Notes


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