| Abstract: | Background: The social position of a husband or wife can influence the health status of the individual and his/her partner. Also, social position can change over time as a result of education, job, income, marriage and/or divorce.Aim: To examine the association of mobility by marriage based on educational discrepancy between spouses and risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) among Polish men and women of 40–50 years of age.Subjects and methods: The sample included 394 married men and 453 married women of 40–50 years of age. All were residents of Wroc?aw located in southwestern Poland. Risk of CVD was assessed with the Framingham Risk Score (FRS). The sex-specific effect of social mobility on CVD risk (FRS) was tested by multiple regression analyses.Results: Among Polish married men and women, social mobility by marriage had a significant association with risk of CVD. Downwardly mobile men and women had a higher risk of CVD, while upwardly mobile men and women had a lower risk of CVD compared with individuals from homogamous marriages. The sole exception to this trend was poorly educated men among whom marriage with a better educated wife did not affect CVD risk.Conclusion: Social mobility by marriage influences CVD risk. The results provide additional insights for studies examining socioeconomic differentials in CVD risk. |
