Effects of husbands’ and wives’ education on each otherʹs mortality

Education is an important predictor of oneʹs own cardiovascular disease (CVD) and overall mortality. Little is known, however, regarding the effect of other individuals, specifically a spouse, on these risks. In the present study, we examine the contribution of a spouseʹs educational attainment and the effect of educational discrepancy between spouses on CVD and overall mortality. Data were taken from the Israel Longitudinal Mortality Study, which linked a 20% sample of the 1983 census to mortality records through 1992. The study cohort comprised 37,618 married couples aged 45–69 years. During the 9.5-year follow-up 6058 men and 2568 women died. Overall and CVD mortality hazard ratios were calculated using Cox proportional hazard regression models. We found that the educational attainment of both spouses were significant predictors of oneʹs own overall mortality. For CVD mortality, however, a wifeʹs educational attainment was a stronger predictor of her husbandʹs risk of dying than his own educational level, while for women a husbandʹs education had little affect. Educational discrepancy between partners did not affect overall mortality and had a varied effect on CVD mortality by sex. Specifically, highly educated women had an almost two-fold increased risk of CVD mortality when married to less educated husbands, while lesser-educated women were not affected by their spouses’ educational attainment. Spouses’ education adds valuable information when assessing mortality differentials among married persons, and socioeconomic characteristics of oneʹs immediate family are important influences on oneʹs health.