New research shows that when one half of a couple shows high levels of certain behaviours that prevent type 2 diabetes, such as good diet or exercise, that behaviour also tends to be high in the other half of the couple. The study is by Omar Silverman-Retana, Department of Public Health, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark, and Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark, and colleagues. In the study, the authors compared the degree of spousal concordance in a set of detailed pathophysiological mechanisms and risk factors for type 2 diabetes to understand where in the causal cascade spousal similarities are most relevant. They used data from the Maastricht Study, a large ongoing study focusing on the etiology of type 2 diabetes, its classic complications, and its emerging comorbidities.
They carried out a cross-sectional analysis of 172…