(Web Desk) - A study revealed that women married to men with high blood pressure were more likely to have hypertension themselves, as were men with wives facing hypertension.
About half of hypertension cases in middle-aged and older adults appear to be shared or "concordant" within couples, according to a recent study.
The research, conducted in China, England, India and the United States, indicates that if one spouse has high blood pressure, the likelihood of their partner having hypertension is significantly higher.
The study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, examined data from over 30,000 couples across four countries.
The findings revealed that women married to men with high blood pressure were more likely to have hypertension themselves, as were men with wives facing hypertension.
The prevalence of concordant hypertension was notably high, with around 47.1% of couples in England, 37.9% in the United States, 20.8% in China and 19.8% in India exhibiting this shared health condition.
The researchers, based at the University of Michigan, Emory University and Columbia University, emphasised that these results highlight a unique opportunity for couples to jointly manage hypertension.
The cultural context also played a role, with collectivist societies in China and India showing stronger associations between couples' blood pressure status compared to individualistic cultures like the US and England.
The study suggests that health-related conversations between partners and shared approaches to lifestyle changes could significantly impact hypertension management.
"High blood pressure is more common in the US and England than in China and India, however, the association between couples’ blood pressure status was stronger in China and India than in the US and England. One reason might be cultural,” said study co-lead author Peiyi Lu, Ph.D., a post-doctoral fellow in epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Lu added that in China and India, “there’s a strong belief in sticking together as a family, so couples might influence each other’s health more.”
The researchers propose collaborative strategies such as joint monitoring, exercise programs, and shared lifestyle changes as actionable steps for couples managing hypertension together.