Most Couples Concordant for Cardiovascular Risk

TUESDAY, Oct. 27, 2020 — Most couples are concordant in cardiovascular risk factors, according to a study published online Oct. 26 in JAMA Network Open.

Dov Shiffman, Ph.D., from Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute in San Juan Capistrano, California, and colleagues examined within-couple concordance of the American Heart Association-defined Life’s Simple 7 in a cross-sectional study conducted throughout the United States between October 2014 and December 2018. Data were included for 5,364 married couples and domestic partners (10,728 participants).

The researchers found that for most couples, both members were in the ideal category or the nonideal category. Concordance varied from 53 to 95 percent for cholesterol and diet, respectively. In 79 percent of couples, both members were in a nonideal category for the cardiovascular health score, which was mainly associated with unhealthy diet and inadequate exercise (94 and 53 percent of couples, respectively). In most couples, both members were in the ideal category for smoking status and glucose (60 and 56 percent, respectively). When one member of a couple was in the ideal category, the other was likely also to be in the ideal category, with odds ratios ranging from 1.3 to 10.6 for blood pressure and diet, respectively, with the exception of total cholesterol.

“These observations may help inform public health initiatives that focus on couples-targeted lifestyle modification and may help improve the probability of successful implementation of programs that would benefit both members of a couple,” the authors write.

Several authors are employees of Quest Diagnostics.

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