Marital status linked to better functional outcomes following surgery

People who were never married had similar outcomes.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/uops-msl102815.php

Public Release: 28-Oct-2015
Marital status linked to better functional outcomes following surgery, Penn Medicine study finds
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine

Patients who are divorced, separated or widowed had an approximately 40 percent greater chance of dying or developing a new functional disability in the first two years following cardiac surgery than their married peers, according to a new study from researchers at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania published in this week's JAMA Surgery.

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They found that at the time of baseline interview, 65 percent were married 12 percent were divorced or separated, 21 percent were widowed and two percent were never married. At their post-surgery interview, 19 percent of the married participants, 29 percent of the divorced or separated subjects, 39 percent of the widowed and 20 percent of those who had never been married had either died or developed a new disability.

Compared with subjects who were married at baseline, the odds for death or a new functional disability during the first two years following cardiac surgery were 40 percent greater among those who are divorced, separated or widowed, the researchers found.

Neuman and Werner surmise that this may related to the social supports in influencing patients' choice of hospitals and their self-care.

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