Health consequences of spousal health shocks: evidence from a matched event study in the United States.

Abstract

Major disease diagnoses can create shocks that ripple through households. Population-level evidence in the US on how spouses and partners fare after a partner's major diagnosis remains sparse and is often limited to caregiver or employment-related outcomes. Using the US Health and Retirement Study (1992-2020), we evaluated population-level health spillovers to spouses after a partner's first diagnosis of cancer, stroke, or heart disease, employing a stacked event-study design with matching (n = 29 166). Outcomes included subjective health, doctor-diagnosed conditions, limitations in basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL/IADL), and health behaviors and use of preventive care. We evaluated heterogeneity by sociodemographic and economic conditions. Spouses of newly diagnosed patients experienced modest but persistent declines: more frequent reports of poor health ($\boldsymbol{\beta}$ = .02, 95% CI, 0.00, 0.03), more doctor-diagnosed conditions ($\boldsymbol{\beta}$ = .05, 95% CI, 0.01, 0.08), and higher depressive symptoms ($\boldsymbol{\beta}$ = .08, 95% CI, 0.01, 0.16). Effects were greater among women whose male partners received a diagnosis and among spouses with lower education or fewer assets. Health and preventive care behaviors were largely unchanged. Findings motivate early, spouse-focused support and underscore the need for targeted interventions for spouses at highest risk.