Abstract
Cancer is a major life event that imposes huge economic and mental burdens on patients and families. In addition, the diagnosis of cancer also causes significant family discordance that can lead to marital problems such as divorce or separation. The aim of this study was to investigate the association and any related gender differences between cancer diagnosis and marital disruption among cancer survivors. We used the recent cross-sectional Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (4th and 5th; Years 2008-2012). The study participants were 623 married cancer survivors over the age of 19. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was conducted to estimate odds ratios. After adjusting for socioeconomic status and health-related behaviors, the odds ratio of marital disruption among female cancer survivors compared with male cancer survivors was 3.94 (95%CI 1.30-11.94; p=0.02). The odds ratio of marital disruption for the below-average economic level compared with the above-average economic level was 5.64 (95%CI: 1.03-31.02; p=0.05). When compared with the non-smoking cancer survivors, the smoking cancer survivors had an OR of marital disruption equal to 2.94 (95%CI: 1.08-8.00; p=0.03). The findings of this study suggest that the odds of marital disruption among female cancer survivors are higher than those among their male counterparts. Medical practitioners should be sensitive to early signs of marital discord in couples affected by a cancer diagnosis. Early identification and psychosocial intervention might reduce the frequency of divorce and separation and thus improve quality of life and quality of care for cancer survivors.
Highlights
Cancer is the most common cause of death in Korea
After adjusting for socioeconomic status and health-related behaviors, the odds ratio of marital disruption among female cancer survivors compared with male cancer survivors was 3.94 (95%confidence interval Discussion (CI) 1.30-11.94; p=0.02)
The findings of this study suggest that the odds of marital disruption among female cancer survivors are higher than those among their male couterparts
Summary
Cancer is the most common cause of death in Korea. Recently, the survival rate among patients with cancer has been improving consistently. It might be reasonable to hypothesize, that a major life event such as a diagnosis of cancer would have a considerable effect on the quality of marriage and that patients with cancer are at increased risk of marital disruptions such as divorce and separation. Marital disruption can increase the risks of an unhealthy lifestyle, which may include increased alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking, reduced physical activity, and an unhealthy diet Such changes can subsequently increase the risk of recurrence and comorbidity and jeopardize survival (Doyle et al, 2006; Ozturk et al, 2014). We asked: besides the special cases of cervical and breast cancers, whether other types of cancer result in significantly more marital disruptions among females than among males? We aimed to test whether women are more likely than men to be abandoned by their spouses after a cancer diagnosis using the data from the fourth and fifth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (KNHANES; 2008-2012)
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