Couples Show Similar Behavior in Terms of Risk Factors to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

When one half of a couple displays high levels of specific behaviors that prevent type 2 diabetes, such as good diet or regular exercise, the same behavior tends to be high in the other half of the couple, reports a new study. The findings of the study are presented at the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Annual Meeting. The study is conducted by Omar Silverman-Retana, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University.

The degree of spousal concordance was compared by the authors in a set of detailed pathophysiological mechanisms. They used information from the Maastricht Study, a massive ongoing study focusing on type 2 diabetes's etiology, its complications, and its emerging comorbidities.

They carried out a cross-sectional investigation of 172 couples in this study to evaluate couples' similarity in pathophysiological mechanisms of T2D, including insulin sensitivity and beta-cell function.

The 172 couples' analysis revealed the strongest spousal concordance for the Dutch Healthy Diet Index (DHDI) for men, meaning that a one-unit rise in wives' DHDI was linked to a 0.53 unit rise in the men's DHDI.

For women, a one-unit rise in husbands' time spent in high-intensity physical activity (HPA) was linked to a 0.36 unit rise in women's time spent in HPA.

The authors conclude: "Our results report with a high level of detail that spousal concordance was strongest in behavioral risk factors like diet and physical activity, and that concordance decreased when moving downstream towards pathophysiological factors in the cascade leading to type 2 diabetes. "

Source-Medindia