Spousal concordance in health behavior change.
OBJECTIVE
This study examines the degree to which a married individual's health habits and use of preventive medical care are influenced by his or her spouse's behaviors.


METHODS
Using longitudinal data on individuals and their spouses, we examine changes over time in the health habits of each person as a function of changes in his or her spouse's health habits. Specifically, we analyze changes in smoking, drinking, exercising, cholesterol screening, and obtaining a flu shot.


METHODS
This study uses data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a nationally representative sample of individuals born between 1931 and 1941 and their spouses. Beginning in 1992, 12,652 persons (age-eligible individuals as well as their spouses) from 7,702 households were surveyed about many aspects of their life, including health behaviors, use of preventive services, and disease diagnosis.


METHODS
The analytic sample includes 6,072 individuals who are married at the time of the initial HRS survey and who remain married and in the sample at the time of the 1996 and 2000 waves.


RESULTS
We consistently find that when one spouse improves his or her behavior, the other spouse is likely to do so as well. This is found across all the behaviors analyzed, and persists despite controlling for many other factors.


CONCLUSIONS
Simultaneous changes occur in a number of health behaviors. This conclusion has prescriptive implications for developing interventions, treatments, and policies to improve health habits and for evaluating the impact of such measures.
Falba
Tracy A
TA
Department of Economics, Duke University, 302 Towerview Rd., Rubenstein Hall, PO Box 90253, Durham, NC 27701, USA.
Sindelar
Jody L
JL
D001294:Attitude to Health; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011314:Preventive Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012907:Smoking; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D014481:United States