In a study of cardiac surgery patients, patients who were divorced, separated or widowed were more likely to have died or developed a new functional disability post-surgery when compared to married patients.
The study was published online by JAMA Surgery. Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia studied data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study, in which 29,053 adults aged 50 years or older are enrolled. The researchers looked specifically at 1,576 participants who reported having undergone cardiac surgery.
At the time of the study entry, 65 percent of participants were married, 12 percent were divorced or separated, 21 percent were widowed and 2 percent were never married. During a post-surgery interview, just 19 percent of married participants had died or developed a new disability that left them unable to perform tasks like dressing, walking and eating.
On the other hand, 29 percent of divorced or separated participants, 34 percent of widowed participants and 20 percent of people who had never been married suffered similar results.
They found that patients who were divorced, separated or widowed had about 40 percent greater odds of dying or developing a functional disability after cardiac surgery compared with married patients.
"These findings extend prior work suggesting postoperative survival advantages for married people and may relate to the role of social supports in influencing patients' choices of hospitals and their self-care," according to the study authors. They believe the findings show that "marital status is a predictor of survival and functional recovery after cardiac surgery."