How sweet is your love? Disentangling the role of marital status and quality on average glycemic levels among adults 50 years and older in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Abstract

IntroductionThe health benefits of marriage have been widely documented and, to a lesser extent, the effects of marital quality. Marital relationships may be particularly relevant to the health of older adults. This study explores the associations of marital status and marital quality with average glycemic levels in older adults using longitudinal data.Research design and methodsOur sample consisted of adults aged 50–89 years without previously diagnosed diabetes from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (n=3335). We used biomarker data from waves 2 (2004/2005), 4 (2008/2009) and 6 (2012/2013) to analyze changes in hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) levels within individuals in relation to their marital indicators (marital status, social support from spouse, and social strain from spouse) over time using linear fixed effect models.ResultsWe found that being married was associated with lower HbA1c values (β: −0.21%; 95% CI −0.31% to −0.10%) among adults without pre-existing diabetes. Spousal support and spousal strain were generally not associated with HbA1c values.ConclusionsIt seems that marital relationships, regardless of the quality of the relationship, are associated with lower HbA1c values for male and female adults aged over 50 years.

Awareness and knowledge of diabetic ketoacidosis in people with type 1 diabetes: a cross-sectional, multicenter survey

“…Conversely, living alone, rather than other forms of cohabitation, substantially increased the likelihood of experiencing multiple episodes of DKA (OR 2.7, 95% CI 1.09 to 6.66). It has been reported that being married is associated with lower HbA1c levels,19 which may explain in part also a lowered risk of DKA, but data on marital status or cohabitation on DKA risk are lacking and our findings need further investigation.…”