Korean J Fam Med.
2012 Nov;33(6):390-397. 10.4082/kjfm.2012.33.6.390.
Marital Status and Health Behavior in Middle-aged Korean Adults
- Affiliations
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- 1Department of Family Medicine, Inje University Seoul Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. drparkhyunah@gmail.com
- 2Inje Institute of Advanced Studies of Seoul Paik Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
- KMID: 2304235
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.4082/kjfm.2012.33.6.390
Abstract
- BACKGROUND
Marital status is as an important sociodemographic variable for health studies. We assessed the association between marital status and health behavior in middle-aged Korean adults.
METHODS
This is a cross-sectional study of 2,522 Korean middle-aged adults (1,049 men, 1,473 women) from the 2010 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The subjects were classified as living with a partner or living without a partner (never married, separated, widowed, and divorced). We assessed the relationship between marital status and five health behaviors (smoking, high-risk alcohol intake, regular exercise, regular breakfast consumption, and undergoing periodic health screening).
RESULTS
Age, income level, educational level, and occupational classification were all significantly associated with marital status. The risk of undergoing health screening (odds ratio [OR], 0.53; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.32 to 0.90) and having regular breakfast (OR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.27 to 0.92) were significantly lower in men living without a partner than with a partner. Women living without a partner had a higher smoking risk (OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.09 to 4.73) and a higher risk of high-risk alcohol consumption (OR, 5.33; 95% CI, 1.65 to 17.24) than their counterparts.
CONCLUSION
Korean middle-aged adults living with partners are more likely to have healthier behavior than living without a partner. The association between marital status and health behaviors differed by sex.
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