Men with multiple wives need higher finances. So they take on extra employment or have the added pressure of traveling daily to urban areas for higher paid work.

The prospective multi-center observational study examined the relationship between the presence and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) and number of wives. It included consecutive patients referred for coronary angiography at 5 hospitals in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The 687 married men in the study had an average age of 59 years and 56 percent had diabetes, 57 percent had hypertension and 45 percent had a past history of CAD. Around two-thirds of the men had one wife (68 percent) while 19 percent had 2 wives, 10 percent had 3 wives and 3 percent had 4 wives. There were significant baseline differences according to the number of wives. Men with more than 1 wife were more likely to be older, live in a rural area, have a higher income and have a history of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).
Dr Daoulah said that men with multiple wives have to be well supported financially, and although Saudis and Emirati people are supported by their governments, polygamists may need more than one income. They may therefore take on extra employment or have the added pressure of traveling daily to urban areas for higher paid work.
The researchers found a significant association between number of wives and the presence of CAD, Left main disease (LMD) and Multivessle disease (MVD). Risk increased with the number of wives. After adjusting for baseline differences, the researchers showed that men who practiced polygamy had a 4.6-fold increased risk of CAD, a 3.5-fold increased risk of LMD and a 2.6-fold elevated risk of MVD.
Dr Daoulah explained that the reason could be the need to provide and maintain separate households multiplies the financial burden and emotional expense.
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