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Married adults have better mortality rates after cardiac surgery
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Married adults who undergo cardiac surgery are more than three times as likely as single adults who have the same surgery to survive the next 3 months, according to results of a recent study.
Researchers compared 5-year hazards of mortality among patients who were married with patients who were widowed, separated, divorced or never married (n=569; 27.1% women). All patients underwent emergency or elective CABG or heart valve replacement or repair from October 2000 to October 2003. All patients were interviewed prior to surgery. Data on survival status of the patients were obtained from the National Death Index.
While the most striking difference in outcomes occurred during the first 3 months after surgery, results showed that the strong protective effect of marriage continued for up to 5 years following CABG.
“The observed number of deaths for the married was fewer than expected and for the unmarried (particularly widowed) was more than expected. This relationship was similar for men and women,” the researchers wrote.
Overall, the hazard of mortality was 1.9 times higher for unmarried patients as compared with married patients, after adjustment for demographics and pre- and postsurgical health.
Of the 111 deaths reported in the study, 53% were related to CV causes.
Researchers found an adjusted hazard for immediate postsurgical mortality of 3.33 and an adjusted hazard for long-term mortality of 1.71. Long-term mortality results were mediated by married patients’ lower smoking rates, according to the researchers.
“We found that marriage boosted survival whether the patient was a man or a woman. The findings underscore the important role of spouses as caregivers during health crises, and husbands were apparently just as good at caregiving as wives,” Ellen L. Idler, PhD, a sociologist at Emory University, said in a press release.
These data are inconclusive to determine the cause of the difference in outcomes between married and single patients. However, the researchers said presurgery interviews with the patients provided some possible clues.
“The married patients had a more positive outlook going into the surgery compared with the single patients,” Idler said. “When asked whether they would be able to manage the pain and discomfort or their worries about the surgery, those who had spouses were more likely to say yes.”
Disclosure: Dr. Idler reports no relevant financial disclosures.
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