Wife's job affects husband's lifespan

Researchers have suggested how well educated a woman is influences both her own and her partner's chances of a long life.

In a study to be published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health researchers said a woman's educational attainment and social status affected her male partner's longevity.

The findings were put together following research of 1.5 million Swedes aged between 30 and 59, all of whom worked.

Their educational attainment, social class, status, and earnings, including wages and related state benefits, was collected from 1990 Census for married and cohabiting couples and matched against entries in the national cause of death register up to 2003.

In the conclusion of the research, the authors said there was a gender divide in the risk of death from any cause, and that this was linked to education and social class.

'Women traditionally take more responsibility for the home than men do, and, as a consequence, women's education might be more important for the family lifestyle - for example, in terms of food habits - than men's education,' the authors said.

A female partner's education was more important for a man's chances of a long life than his own educational attainment, they added. And the male partner's social class and income, seemed to have the most impact on a woman's risk of death. How much a woman earned had little influence on her own, or her partner's, risk of death.

The authors conclude that education predicts occupation, which predicts class and social status as well as income. It may also influence selection of partner and, importantly, lifestyle.