Marital Loss, Race/Ethnicity, and Multimorbidity Among U.S. Older Adults.

Abstract

Over two-thirds of older adults have two or more chronic conditions. Chronic multimorbidity, widowhood, and divorce/separation are common in late adulthood, but may have different impacts for racially/ethnically diverse populations along with cumulatively disadvantaged social and living conditions over time. We examined the associations between divorce/separation and widowhood, race/ethnicity, and multimorbidity among 8625 Americans aged 50 and above. Leveraging 2018 Health and Retirement Study data, we employed binomial logistic regression (using the logistic command in Stata) to analyze whether married/partnered adults in 2010 experienced marital loss and developed multimorbidity by 2018. Widowhood was not associated with chronic illness or multimorbidity among any racial/ethnic groups, whereas divorce/separation was associated with elevated odds of chronic condition(s) only for non-Hispanic Black older adults. Findings suggest that among racially/ethnically minoritized older adults, divorce/separation could cause worse late-life chronic health condition(s) than widowhood. Marital and racial-ethnic trajectories of multimorbidity need to be further examined.