Cheers to Longevity: Couples Who Drink Together, Live Longer

Well, I'm not coupled, but that isn't stopping me from enjoying drinks with female friends listening to live jazz music.

And didn't your competent? doctor tell all the males in their patient load to drink with buddies twice a week? WHY NOT? Your doctor incompetently didn't know of the research or didn't follow thru? Either case is grounds for firing your doctor!

Men must drink with male friends twice a week to stay healthy, study finds December 2017

The latest here:

Cheers to Longevity: Couples Who Drink Together, Live Longer

Summary: Couples with similar drinking habits, specifically those who both consume alcohol, tend to live longer than those who don’t share the same drinking patterns. This finding draws on “the drinking partnership” theory, suggesting that shared alcohol consumption correlates with improved marital outcomes and possibly, greater longevity.

While the study stops short of endorsing increased alcohol consumption among couples, it highlights the significance of shared lifestyle habits on health and relationship satisfaction. The research, part of the Health and Retirement study, followed 4,656 couples over two decades, providing a comprehensive look at the long-term implications of mutual drinking habits on life span.

Key Facts:

1. Shared Drinking Habits Linked to Longevity: Couples who both drink alcohol tend to live longer compared to those with discordant drinking habits or who abstain altogether.
2. Impact on Relationship Quality: Concordant drinking couples report higher relationship satisfaction, potentially due to increased intimacy and shared activities.
3. Groundbreaking Longitudinal Study: The research analyzed data from the Health and Retirement study, tracking 4,656 couples from 1996 to 2016, underscoring the robustness of the findings.

Source: University of Michigan

In a recent study published in The Gerontologist, Kira Birditt, research professor at the U-M Institute for Social Resarch’s Survey Research Center, found that couples who are concordant in their drinking behavior (that is, both members drink alcohol) tend to live longer. 

She says a theory in alcohol literature called “the drinking partnership,” where couples who have similar patterns of alcohol use tend to have better marital outcomes (such as less conflict and longer marriages), was the inspiration behind the study. 

Birditt would like to explore further questions related to couples’ alcohol consumption and how it affects their relationship. Credit: Neuroscience News

Although a great deal of research has examined the implications of couples’ drinking patterns for marital outcomes, the implications for health are less clear. Behaviors that are good for marriage are not necessarily good for health, Birditt says. 

“The purpose of this study was to look at alcohol use in couples in the Health and Retirement Study and the implications for mortality,” she said.

“And we found, interestingly, that couples in which both indicated drinking alcohol in the last three months lived longer than the other couples that either both indicated not drinking or had discordant drinking patterns in which one drank and the other did not.” 

And while it may sound like that’s a recommendation to drink more with your spouse, Birditt cautions against that reading. 

The study specifically looked at drinking patterns and defined “drinking” very broadly, examining whether or not a participant had had a drink within the last three months. However, it may suggest the importance of remembering how spouses can impact each other’s health.

Drinking concordance among couples may be a reflection of compatibility among partners in their lifestyles, intimacy and relationship satisfaction.

“We’ve also found in other studies that couples who drink together tend to have better relationship quality, and it might be because it increases intimacy,” Birditt said.

That impact might merit further study. Birditt would like to explore further questions related to couples’ alcohol consumption and how it affects their relationship.

“We don’t know why both partners drinking is associated with better survival. I think using the other techniques that we use in our studies in terms of the daily experiences and ecological momentary assessment questionnaires could really get at that to understand, for example, focusing on concordant drinking couples,” she said.

“What are their daily lives like? Are they drinking together? What are they doing when they are drinking? 

“There is also little information about the daily interpersonal processes that account for these links. Future research should assess the implications of couple drinking patterns for daily marital quality, and daily physical health outcomes.”

The Health and Retirement study is a nationally representative study of adults aged 50 and older in the United States. It includes couples who are interviewed every two years. Participants included 4,656 married/cohabiting different-sex couples (9,312 individuals) who completed at least three waves of the HRS from 1996 to 2016. 

About this longevity research news

Author: Morgan Sherburne
Source: University of Michigan
Contact: Morgan Sherburne – University of Michigan
Image: The image is credited to Neuroscience News

Original Research: Closed access.
“Alcohol Use and Mortality Among Older Couples in the United States: Evidence of Individual and Partner Effects” by Kira Birditt, et al. The Gerontologist

Development of a novel positive psychology-based intervention for couples post-stroke

So rather than prevent this secondary problem(depression) from occurring, by getting to 100% recovery. Let's use pop psychology to make survivors and caregivers feel better about not getting recovered. Something is wrong with this scenario.

Development of a novel positive psychology-based intervention for couples post-stroke 

 Rehabilitation Psychology , Volume 63(1) , Pgs. 43-54.

NARIC Accession Number: J79056.  What's this?
ISSN: 0090-5550.
Author(s): Terrill, Alexandra L.; Reblin, Maija; MacKenzie, Justin J.; Cardell, Beth; Einerson, Jackie; Berg, Cynthia A.; Majersik, Jennifer J.; Richards, Lorie.
Publication Year: 2018.
Number of Pages: 12.
Abstract: Study developed and tested the feasibility of a dyadic positive psychology-based intervention (PPI) for 11 community-dwelling couples consisting of 1 partner who had a stroke at least 6 months ago and a cohabiting partner caregiver. One or both partner(s) had to report depressive symptoms. The PPI consisted of 1 brief face-to-face training session and an 8-week self-administered intervention in which participants were instructed to engage in at least 2 activities alone and 2 together each week. Two dyads were randomly assigned to a waitlist control to test feasibility of this process. Baseline, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up assessments and post-program feedback were obtained. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze sample characteristics, recruitment and retention rates, adherence, key pre- and post-intervention outcomes, and satisfaction with the intervention. Ten of the 11 dyads completed the program. All participants engaged in activities for at least 6 of 8 weeks. Feedback data indicated participant satisfaction with the intervention, and key outcome measures demonstrated adequate variability. Findings suggest that the self-administered dyadic PPI is feasible for implementation with couples following stroke. The PPI represents a first step in a novel dyadic approach in this population. Recruitment, enrollment and attrition rates, and feedback will be used to inform a larger randomized trial.
Descriptor Terms: DEPRESSION, FEASIBILITY STUDIES, INTERPERSONAL RELATIONS, INTERVENTION, PSYCHOLOGY, REHABILITATION, SPOUSES, STROKE.


Can this document be ordered through NARIC's document delivery service*?: Not available from NARIC.

Citation: Terrill, Alexandra L., Reblin, Maija, MacKenzie, Justin J., Cardell, Beth, Einerson, Jackie, Berg, Cynthia A., Majersik, Jennifer J., Richards, Lorie. (2018). Development of a novel positive psychology-based intervention for couples post-stroke.  Rehabilitation Psychology , 63(1), Pgs. 43-54. Retrieved 9/8/2018, from REHABDATA database.

Couples Say Relationships Damaged By Stroke

Duh. No kidding. It made my life so much better after the separation/divorce.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/091111121856.htm
Dr Assumpta Ryan and Hilary Thompson recently published findings from a study involving 16 married stroke survivors -- nine males and seven females -- aged between 33 and 78.

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The study found that sexual relationships were significantly affected after a stroke, gender roles became blurred and feelings like anger and frustration were confounded by a lack of independence and ongoing fatigue.
Dr Ryan from Ulster's Nursing Research Institute was co-author of the study alongside MSc student, Hilary Thompson, a Stroke Nurse Specialist within the Southern Health and Social Services Trust.
"All the participants perceived a stroke as a life-changing event. They faced a continuous daily struggle to achieve some sense of normality and that required huge amounts of physical and mental effort," said Dr. Ryan.
Key findings from the report, which were recently published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, included:

• Sexual relationships changed. A 35-year-old female stroke survivor summed up the general feeling well. "It's not a husband and wife role anymore" she said. "It's a carer and a patient and it's not very pleasant and it's not fair."
• All but one of the respondents reported a reduction or total loss of sexual desire after their stroke. Some felt that this was down to medication and fear of another stroke. As one 61-year-old man told the researchers, "I want her there now as a friend but not really as my wife."
• Most of the females lost interest in their appearance, regardless of their age. "No interest in clothes, no interest in make-up, no interest in hair. Weeks go by that I don't even wash my hair," said one 57-year-old woman.
• All the respondents said they had changed since their stroke and irritability, anger, agitation and intolerance were frequently mentioned. "I'm normally easy going, but now the slightest little thing sets off the temper" said a 53-year-old man.
• A lot of the survivors said their outbursts reflected their frustration at not being able to perform routine daily activities, such as making a cup of tea. One 67-year-old man said that that his wife was a "reasonably healthy person" and asked "why should she be lumbered with me?."
• Over-protective spouses appeared to increase anger and feelings of frustration. One 78-year-old woman explained that her husband wouldn't give her time to do the things she could still do because "he's afraid of me falling".
• Survivors said they felt safe and comfortable at home but were reluctant to resume social activities with their spouse because of swallowing problems, anxiety and fatigue. "I would be asked enough times but won't go" said a 46-year-old man.
• Fatigue was a real issue for survivors and this was often associated with reduced independence and guilt. It made it difficult to plan ahead because they didn't know how they would feel from day to day.

"There is no doubt that strokes have a profound effect on relationships and our research showed many of the physical, psychological, social and emotional issues a stroke can raise," said Ms Thompson, who was named RCN Patient Choice Nurse of the Year 2009.
"It is important to point out that stroke can happen at any age and many of the survivors who took part in our study were relatively young. Four respondents were aged between 33 and 43, two between 44 and 54, six between 55 and 65 and four between 66 and 78. The time since their stroke ranged from two months to four years, with an average of 18 months.
"Work is currently in progress -- driven by the recent Northern Ireland Stroke Strategy -- throughout the province to address the gap in service provision for the promotion of long term psychological adjustment for stroke survivors and their carers."
As a result of the study, which was part funded by Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke the researchers have come up with four key recommendations for health care professionals.

• Nurse education should focus on both the physical and psychosocial effects of stroke so that nurses can provide holistic care to stroke survivors and their spouses.
• Health care professionals and service providers must recognise and be sensitive to the profound impact of stroke on sexuality and sexual function.
• Statutory counselling services should be available to people with stroke and their spouses on both an acute and long-term basis to help them cope with the complex issues described.
• Evidence-based guidance is needed to demonstrate how nurses can address the psychosocial needs of stroke survivors most effectively.

University of Ulster. "Couples Say Relationships Damaged By Stroke." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 December 2009. . 

When Couples Disagree on Stroke Recovery, One Partner Can Suffer

My ex being a former physical therapist made it quite clear that  I could expect no help in doing exercises and I had no medical background to question anything about what my doctor or therapists had me doing.
I obviously wasn't recovering very well because I wasn't following the therapy to the exact letter.
http://healthnews.uc.edu/news/?/24728/

An innovative study from a University of Cincinnati (UC) social work researcher has found that when a stroke survivor and his or her caregiving spouse disagree on the survivor’s rate of recovery, the caregiving spouse is more likely to experience depression and emotional distress. 

Assistant Professor Michael McCarthy, PhD, working with co-author Karen Lyons at the Oregon Health and Science University, interviewed 35 couples in which one spouse had experienced a stroke within the past three years.

In separate sessions, stroke survivors and their spouses discussed the survivor’s recovery, including the performance of daily functions, their memory and ability to problem solve. In the first mixed-method study in the topic, both quantitative and qualitative data showed that spouses rated rehabilitation progress as significantly worse than survivors—and that this discrepancy was associated with spouse depression. 

"We found that spouses rated their partners’ recovery worse than survivors rated it themselves, and that this discrepancy predicted depressive symptoms in the spouses,” says McCarthy.

"So if the wife has a stroke,” he continues, "and she believes, for example, that she can still drive but her husband doesn’t—the difference in their perception is predictive of the husband’s emotional distress. We were able to quantify and capture a different kind of worry and stress that caregiving spouses can experience and connect it to their outcomes.” 

He adds that the magnitude of the discrepancy in perceptions between survivors and spousal caregivers is key to predicting depression in spousal caregivers—which can then cycle back onto the survivors. 

McCarthy says there is some evidence that wives may be particularly susceptive to caregiver worry, as are spouses in strong, fulfilling relationships. With studies demonstrating that stroke caregivers have higher rates of depression than the general public and may be at higher risk for stroke themselves as well as premature death, caregiver mental health has profound consequences.

McCarthy hopes the study can help social work and other rehabilitation practitioners working with stroke survivors. Overall, he says health care needs to broaden the conversation around stroke recovery: from focusing solely on the patient to considering the patient-spouse couple as a unit. 

"How the spouse is doing matters in the equation,” he says. "They need as much care, if not more in some ways, as the patient. We need to bring partners together in the rehabilitation process, to align each person’s expectations and perceptions in order to achieve the best outcomes.” 

His paper, "Incongruence between stroke survivor and spouse perceptions of survivor functioning and effects on spouse emotional health,” has been published online in the journal Aging & Mental Health.