Accidental death: Divorced people at higher risk
Divorced people are
more likely to die from preventable accidents than their married counterparts,
according to a new study.
Divorced people are
more likely to die from preventable accidents than their married counterparts,
according to a new study from sociologists at Rice University and the
University of Pennsylvania. The study also found that single people and those
with low educational attainment are at greater risk for accidental death.
The study, "The
Social Side of Accidental Death", examines the links among social
relationships, socio-economic status and how long and well people live. The
authors found that divorced people are more than twice as likely as married
people to die from what the World Health Organisation (WHO) cites as the
most-preventable causes of accidental death (fire, poisoning and smoke
inhalation) and equally likely to die from the least-preventable causes of
accidental death (air and water transportation mishaps).
In addition, compared
with married adults, single people are twice as likely to die from the most
preventable causes of accidental death and equally likely to die from the least
preventable causes of accidental death. People with low educational attainment,
compared with more highly educated adults, are more than twice as likely to die
from the most-preventable accidents and equally likely to die from the
least-preventable accidents.
The researchers
compared 1 302 090 adults aged 18 and older who survived or died from accidents
between 1986 and 2006. The data was from multiple years of the National Health
Interview Survey, which includes demographic information about participants
from throughout the 50 states, including age, race and income. Accidental
underlying causes of death are defined through the World Health Organisation’s
10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases,
Injuries and Causes of Death.
Socio-economic
resources
Justin Denney,
assistant professor of sociology at Rice, associate director of the Kinder
Institute for Urban Research’s Urban Health Program and the study’s lead
author, said it stands to reason that if social relationships and
socio-economic resources prolong life, then they should be more important in
situations where death can reasonably be avoided and less valuable in
situations that closely resemble random events.
“Well-educated
individuals, on average, have greater socio-economic resources, which can be
used to their advantage to prevent accidental death (i.e., safeguarding a home
from fire),” Denney said. “In addition, these individuals tend to be more
knowledgeable about practices that may harm their health, such as excessive
alcohol and drug use. And marital status is influential in that it can provide
positive support, may discourage a partner’s risk and offer immediate support
that saves lives in the event of an emergency.”
Denney hopes the
research will encourage further research of accidental death and how it may be
prevented.
Amy Hodges
Comments