A recent study in the BMJ found that men who were small at birth were less likely to marry, but can slow growth also explain why unmarried people are more likely to die of heart disease?

Researchers from Stockholm University compared death rates for heart disease and stroke of never married and ever married people before and after adjusting for early biological and social factors (birth weight, marital status of the mother, and social class at birth) and social factors in adult life (occupation, education, and income).

They found that boys whose growth was slowest were least likely to marry and that death rates from heart disease and stroke were higher in unmarried men than in married men.

However, they suggest that differences associated with marital status in rates of heart disease or stroke are unlikely to have their roots in early growth restriction. Adult occupation, income, and education are far more important.

Despite biological and social factors evolving together and influencing each other, early growth may not explain why unmarried people have higher death rates, they conclude.

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Contact: Emma Wilkinson
ewilkinson@bmj.com
44-20-7383-6529
BMJ-British Medical Journal
14-Feb-2002