Mental and Physical Health Consequences of Spousal Health Shocks Among Older Adults

Valle, Giuseppina; Weeks, Janet A.; Taylor, Miles G.; Eberstein, Isaac W.

doi:10.1177/0898264313494800

Cited by 31 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…• Although there is some evidence for spouses' concordance in health and well-being (see Walker and Luszcz 2009, for a review), relatively little attention has been paid so far to the various pathways through which other family members' health might be consequential for one's own health (e.g., Roth et al 2015;Valle et al 2013) or for other important outcomes, such as economic well-being (e.g., Heflin and Chiteji 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Families and Health: A Review

Hank

Steinbach

2018

A Demographic Perspective on Gender, Family and Health in Europe

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Families and Health: A Review

Hank

Steinbach

2018

A Demographic Perspective on Gender, Family and Health in Europe

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“…In addition to helping the patient through their illness, family members often struggle with their own emotional distress as well as family disruptions [1] and are included in some definitions of ‘cancer survivor’ [2,3]. Spouses in particular often experience greater burden, strain, or distress than other family caregivers [4,5] and non-caregiving spouses [6-10], which may amplify their risk of adverse health outcomes [11,12]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cancer and quality of life in spousal dyads: spillover in couples with and without cancer-related health problems

Litzelman

Green

Yabroff

2015

Support Care Cancer

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Purpose Poor health of one spouse can adversely influence the partner’s health outcomes (“spillover”). This study aimed to estimate quality of life spillover among spouses, and to determine how presence of cancer influenced these effects. Methods We examined data on husband-wife dyads with cancer-related health problems, medical events, or disabilities (n=910) and matched comparison dyads from the 2004-2012 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey, a population-based survey of the U.S. Mental and physical health-related quality of life and depressed mood were reported at two time points (T1 and T2, 11 months apart on average). Dyadic multilevel models evaluated the cross-lagged impact of HRQoL and depressed mood at T1 on spouses’ HRQoL at T2, controlling for sociodemographics and health conditions. Results Small but statistically significant spillover was observed for mental and physical HRQoL among couples with cancer. Spillover occurred from both the spouse to the survivor, and from survivor to spouse. Depressed mood, in particular, showed stronger spillover effects from the spouse to the survivor than the inverse. Similar effects were not observed in dyads without cancer. Conclusions Screening for and treating poor HRQoL and depressed mood concurrently in both cancer survivors and their spouses may positively influence HRQoL outcomes. Future research is needed to further elucidate these findings and determine whether a concurrent approach to psychosocial care in survivors and their spouses may improve long-term outcomes.

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“…Such caregivers may develop diverse health problems over time (22, 28, 29). Spouses, in particular, often experience greater burden, strain, or distress than other family caregivers (26, 30), which may amplify their risk of adverse health outcomes (31, 32). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How Are Spousal Depressed Mood, Distress, and Quality of Life Associated with Risk of Depressed Mood in Cancer Survivors? Longitudinal Findings from a National Sample

Litzelman

Yabroff

2015

Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers &Amp; Prevention

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Background Spouses of cancer survivors experience both positive and negative effects from caregiving. However, it is less clear what role spousal well-being may have on cancer survivors. This study aimed to determine the impact of spousal psychosocial factors on survivor depressed mood and whether this association differed by gender. Methods We examined longitudinal data on cancer survivors and their spouses (n=910 dyads) from the 2004-2012 Medical Expenditures Panel Survey and a matched sample of cancer-free dyads. Subjects reported depressed mood, psychological distress, and mental and physical health-related quality of life (HRQoL) at two time points (T1/T2). Dyadic multilevel models evaluated the impact of psychosocial factors at T1 on depressed mood at T2, controlling for sociodemographics, cancer type, survivor treatment status, and depressed mood at T1. Results Cancer survivors whose spouses reported depressed mood at T1 were 4.27 times more likely to report depressed mood at T2 (95% CI=2.01-9.07); this was stronger for female survivors (OR=9.49; 95% CI=2.42-37.20). Better spousal mental and physical HRQoL at T1 were associated with a 30% decrease in survivor depressed mood risk at T2. Most spillover effects were not observed in comparison dyads. Conclusion Depressed mood and poor HRQoL in spouses may increase the risk of depressed mood in cancer survivors. The risk may be especially strong for female survivors. Impact Identifying and improving spousal mental health and HRQoL problems may reduce the risk of depressed mood in cancer survivors. Future research should examine whether incorporating spousal care into psycho-oncology and survivorship programs improves survivor outcomes.

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Mental and Physical Health Consequences of Spousal Health Shocks Among Older Adults

Abstract: These findings illustrate that the family context of spouses is important to consider when examining health.

Cited by 31 publications

References 57 publications

Families and Health: A Review

Families and Health: A Review

Cancer and quality of life in spousal dyads: spillover in couples with and without cancer-related health problems

How Are Spousal Depressed Mood, Distress, and Quality of Life Associated with Risk of Depressed Mood in Cancer Survivors? Longitudinal Findings from a National Sample

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