Highlights
- •Spousal concordance was observed for several cardiometabolic risk factors.
- •Men had increased hypertension risk if their wives had the same disease.
- •Interventions targeting spouses, rather than individuals, may be more effective.
Abstract
Background and aims
Few studies have examined and compared spousal concordance in different populations.
This study aimed to quantify and compare spousal similarities in cardiometabolic risk
factors and diseases between Dutch and Japanese populations.
Methods
This cross-sectional study included 28,265 Dutch Lifelines Cohort Study spouse pairs
(2006–2013) and 5,391 Japanese Tohoku Medical Megabank Organization (ToMMo) Cohort
Study pairs (2013–2016). Spousal similarities in cardiometabolic risk factors were
evaluated using Pearson's correlation or logistic regression analyses adjusted for
spousal age.
Results
The husbands' and wives’ average ages in the Lifelines and ToMMo cohorts were 50.0
and 47.7 years and 63.2 and 60.4 years, respectively. Significant spousal similarities
occurred with all cardiometabolic risk factors and diseases of interest in both cohorts.
The age-adjusted correlation coefficients ranged from 0.032 to 0.263, with the strongest
correlations observed in anthropometric traits. Spousal odds ratios [95% confidence
interval] for the Lifelines vs. ToMMo cohort ranged from 1.45 (1.36–1.55) vs. 1.20 (1.05–1.38) for hypertension to 6.86 (6.30–7.48) vs. 4.60 (3.52–6.02) for current smoking. An increasing trend in spousal concordance
with age was observed for sufficient physical activity in both cohorts. For current
smoking, those aged 20–39 years showed the strongest concordance between pairs in
both cohorts. The Dutch pairs showed stronger similarities in anthropometric traits
and lifestyle habits (smoking and drinking) than their Japanese counterparts.
Conclusions
Spouses showed similarities in several cardiometabolic risk factors among Dutch and
Japanese populations, with regional and cultural influences on spousal similarities.
Graphical abstract
Graphical Abstract
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: August 25, 2021
Accepted:
August 25,
2021
Received in revised form:
August 18,
2021
Received:
March 7,
2021
Identification
Copyright
© 2021 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
