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The authors examined the prospective associations between marital status transitions and changes in fitness in men and
women.
Between 1987 and 2005, a total of 8,871 adults (6,900 men) aged 45.6 years were examined at the Cooper Clinic, Dallas, Texas.The median follow-up was 3
years.
Marital transition categories (from single to married, married to divorced, divorced to remarried) were derived from self-reported marital status at baseline and
follow-up.
Fitness (maximal oxygen consumption) was assessed by a maximal treadmill test. Analyses were adjusted for baseline levels and changes in body mass index, physical activity, smoking, alcohol consumption, and major chronic
diseases.
Compared with the corresponding “control” groups (remaining single, married, or divorced) transitioning from being single to married was associated with a reduction in fitness in women, divorce was associated with an increase in fitness in men remarriage was associated with a reduction in fitness in
men.
In conclusion, the current findings, based on data from nearly 9,000 people from the ACLS followed up for a median period of 3 years, suggest that transitions to being married (from single to married or from divorced to remarried) are associated with a modest reduction, while divorce is associated with a modest increase in fitness levels in men. Study results suggest that these patterns may be different in women, but further research is required to confirm
this.
The current study has limitations. First, a smaller number of women than men participated in the study; thus, the findings observed in men may have more strength than those observed in
women.
Authors
Francisco B. Ortega, Wendy J. Brown, Duck-chul Lee, Meghan Baruth, Xuemei Sui and Steven N. Blair
The study is here: http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/content/early/2010/12/01/aje.kwq362.full
(MDN)
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