Discordance in gender role attitudes between spouses and its relationship with the risk biomarkers of cardiovascular diseases: a couple-level analysis

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is prevalent among older adults, but studies often focus on individual spouses rather than couple dynamics. This study examines how interplay between spouses-specifically discordance in gender role attitudes-relates to CVD risk biomarkers, using couple-matched data from the Korean Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (KSHAP) on 308 older married couples (616 individuals). Actor-partner interdependence models (APIM) reveal that discordant gender role attitudes are significantly associated with higher CVD risk markers-higher systolic blood pressure, higher triglycerides (TG), lower high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and a higher TG: HDL-C ratio-among wives only. These associations persist after adjusting for individual-level risk factors, including marital quality, sociodemographics, health behaviors, and depressive symptoms. However, no significant association is found with high-sensitivity C-reactive protein. Two groups of wives are identified as being at the greatest risk for CVD: traditional wives with egalitarian husbands and egalitarian wives with traditional husbands.