Cholesterol screening by marital status and sex in the United States.
BACKGROUND
Marital status may be a predisposing factor related to preventive health screenings, which may in part explain the "healthy marriage" effect. This study investigates differences in the likelihood of being screened for cholesterol by marital status for men and women.


METHODS
Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys from 2003 through 2005 were used to calculate the likelihood of self-reported cholesterol screening in the past year by marital status and sex. Several rounds of interviews during a 2-year period resulted in a sample of 36,594 US adults.


RESULTS
Most married, widowed, and divorced/separated people reported cholesterol screening in the past year. The highest percentages of people being screened for cholesterol were widowed men (75%) and women (81%). By contrast, 26% of single men and 38% of single women reported cholesterol screening. In multivariate models, being unmarried was associated with lower odds of cholesterol screening among men and women. The lowest likelihood of screening was associated with widowed status for both men (odds ratio, 0.56) and women (odds ratio, 0.53).


CONCLUSIONS
Marital status is a predisposing factor for cholesterol screening. Public health interventions aimed at improving preventive screening should focus on social networks, especially family members.
Stimpson
Jim P
JP
Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Fort Worth, TX 76107-2699, USA. jstimpso@hsc.unt.edu
Wilson
Fernando A
FA
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult
D002784:Cholesterol