Couples often share medical conditions, even if they are not contagious

Memory researcher Fabricio Ballarini said couples often rely on each other’s brains to store and recall memories. When a partner dies or leaves, some memories of the other person seem to disappear. This unique bond between long-term partners not only affects their memories and habits, but also has physical consequences. A recent study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association analyzed data from more than 30,000 couples worldwide and found that 20%-50% had high blood pressure.

Among heterosexual couples aged 50 to 75, the prevalence of hypertension is 37.9% in the United States, 47.1% in the United Kingdom, 20.8% in China, and 19.8% in India. In countries where high blood pressure is less common, women’s health is more affected. Compared with women married to normotensive men, American and British women living with hypertensive men were more likely to have high blood pressure themselves (9% and 19%, respectively). Likewise, Chinese women are 26% more likely. The proportion of husbands is comparable across the countries studied.

The authors concluded that couple-coordinated interventions can be effective in combating hypertension. These interventions include detection tests and lifestyle changes such as increasing physical activity, reducing stress and changing diet. Both people in the relationship should adopt these changes together to facilitate introduction and maintenance.

Couples often have more in common than high blood pressure. A study conducted by Tohoku University (Japan) and the University of Groningen (Netherlands) showed that many couples have similar blood pressure levels, cholesterol levels, and even share medical conditions such as diabetes.this british medical journal Another study published in the Medical Journal found that the companions of people with certain non-communicable diseases are at higher risk of developing these diseases. For conditions such as asthma, depression and gastric ulcers, the risk is increased by at least 70%.

Matching habits and genetics

Couples often share habits such as exercising, drinking, and smoking. Their body dimensions also tend to be similar. People often choose partners who are similar in terms of education, financial status, social environment, and even genetics. A study published in 2013 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Couples were found to be more genetically similar than randomly selected individuals, although this similarity was much smaller than factors such as education. Although we don’t yet fully understand the exact mechanisms behind partner selection, we appear to be attracted to those who are similar to us. This may partly explain why couples who live together long-term tend to have similar health conditions.

Over time, physical synchrony is accompanied by psychological rhythms, enhancing its impact on a partner’s health. A study conducted by Shannon Meja, a couples health expert at the University of Illinois, suggests that beliefs about aging are contagious and can affect a partner’s health. If you stop exercising because you think you’re too old, this negative perception can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Likewise, the belief that aging is inevitable and uncontrollable can hinder action. Understanding the habits, rituals and beliefs couples develop over years of living together can help gerontologists support successful aging, Mejia said.

Make medical appointments as a couple

Gonzalo Grandes, director of the Primary Care Research Unit at Bizkaia in Spain, said: “The concept of family medicine stems from the recognition of the similarities between couples and their children. Despite this, in practice we still tend to rely on personalized medicine, different clinical histories cannot provide valuable information for treatment. To Grandes, a comprehensive family perspective is valuable in addressing issues such as childhood obesity. It involves focusing on nutrition and physical activity, which are important considerations for parents or other adults caring for children. Responsibility. In theory, it is widely accepted that building social health interventions at the household and community levels is critical to promoting health. However, due to its complexity, implementing this approach can be challenging.

Isabel Egocheaga of the Spanish Society of General Practitioners and Family Doctors (SEMG) said that while hospitals typically do not schedule appointments for couples, this is common in family medicine. The condition is more common among older couples than younger ones, she said. Often, we do tests at the same time, and some couples take Sintrom at the same time [an anticoagulant] and complete all necessary follow-up tasks together. Like the authors of the American Heart Association article, Egocheaga believes couples can better manage high blood pressure by doing things together, such as reducing salt intake and exercising.

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