Cohabiting helps to maintain lower blood sugar levels
Tuesday February 7th 2023
Being married or living with a partner can help to maintain lower blood sugar levels – regardless of how acrimonious the relationship is, a new study published today suggests.
A study by researchers in Luxembourg and Canada investigated the association between marital status and marital quality with average glycaemic levels in older adults, after previous studies pointed to health benefits of marriage and/or cohabiting.
The study, published in the latest edition of BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care, examined biomarker data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), a population-based sample of adults aged 50 years and older and their partners, who live in England.
The data are collected every second year, with biomarker data collected in every other wave, and in this study, it examined 3,335 adults aged 50 to 89 years old from 2004 to 2013.
None had been diagnosed with diabetes in wave two (2004-05), when biomarker data were first available in ELSA.
In waves four (2008-9) and six (2012-13), participants had blood samples taken to measure their HbA1c levels and they were also asked if they had a husband, wife, or partner with whom they lived.
The questions were designed to measure the level of social strain and social support within the marital/cohabitating relationship and other information was gathered, including age, income, employment, smoking, being physically active, depression, body mass index (BMI), and having other social relationship types in their social network.
In wave two, 76% of the respondents were married or cohabiting and data analysis over time showed that people who experienced marital transitions, such as divorce, also experienced significant changes in their HbA1c levels, increasing the odds of pre-diabetes.
The researchers, from the University of Luxembourg and the University of Ottawa, found the quality of the relationship did not make a significant difference to the average levels of blood glucose.
The authors say this was an observational study and pointed to limitations in the study, such as the number of people who dropped out after wave two. There was also the possibility that individuals in worse health were more likely to get divorced.
However, they say because HbA1c was used as an outcome measure rather than self-reported diagnoses, it was a more accurate and precise measure.
“Overall, our results suggested that marital/cohabitating relationships were inversely related to HbA1c levels regardless of dimensions of spousal support or strain,” they write.
“Likewise, these relationships appeared to have a protective effect against HbA1c levels above the pre-diabetes threshold.
“Increased support for older adults who are experiencing the loss of a marital/cohabitating relationship through divorce or bereavement, as well as the dismantling of negative stereotypes around romantic relationships in later life, may be starting points for addressing health risks, more specifically deteriorating glycaemic regulation, associated with marital transitions in older adults.”
Ford KJ, Robitaille A. 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. BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care 7 February 2023; doi: 10.1136/bmjdrc-2022-003080
Tags: Europe | Heart Health | North America | UK News
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