between married and unmarried men

Study objective?To determine the effect of marital status on mortality for men. In parti cular, to examine whether subgroups of unmarried men (widowed, single, and divorced/separated men) have a similar mor tality to married men. Design?Cohort study Setting?Whitehall civil service, London, between 1967 and 1969 Participants?A total of 18 403 men aged 40-64 years with 18 years' follow up. Measurements and main results?Cause specific mortality rates and risk factors at baseline were determined. Overall mortality was greater for all groups of unmarried men. Patterns of mortality were different in the subgroups of unmarried men. Widowed men had a significantly greater risk of dying from ischaemic heart disease (relative risk (RR) 1-46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1-08, 1-97) which persisted after exclusion of deaths that occurred in the first two years. Divorced men had greater cancer mortality (RR 1*49; 95% CI 1-06, 2-10) that could not be explained simply by their greater consumption of cigarettes. The initial increased mortality for single men was no longer evident after adjustment for other risk factors, suggesting that single status in itself may not increase the risk. The risk for single men may have been underestimated, however, by over adjustment for possible intermediary factors.

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