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. — By Jacqueline Weaver
T H I S
“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.
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Campus Notes
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