A research team from Taiwan, the US and Denmark found that people with a psychiatric disorder are likely to marry someone who has a similar disorder — a pattern that is consistent across cultures and generations.
This study on the correlation of mental disorders between spouses was published in the international journal Nature Human Behaviour on Aug. 28.
The research team analyzed data from about 5 million couples in Taiwan’s National Health Insurance (NHI) database from the 1930s onward, more than 570,000 couples from Denmark’s national registry since 1968 and 700,000 couples from Sweden’s national registry.
Photo: CNA
The results showed that “a majority of psychiatric disorders have consistent spousal correlations across nations and over generations,” the team wrote in the abstract.
This was the world’s largest study on spousal correlations for mental disorders, said National Center for Geriatrics and Welfare Research assistant researcher Wang Shi-heng (王世亨), who coauthored the paper.
The results showed that across different national cultures, healthcare systems and more than half a century of generational change, people with mental disorders are more likely to marry someone who also has a mental disorder, Wang said.
This could be because people are attracted to those with similar traits, or because people with psychiatric disorders face social constraints that make them more likely to marry someone with a similar disorder, he said.
In addition, two people’s mental health may become similar after sharing the same household for an extended period, increasing the likelihood of developing the same disorder, he added.
However, the study is limited by the lack of personal information in the NHI database, such as education, occupation and lifestyle, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University public health professor Chuang Yi-fang (莊宜芳) said.
The data also do not show if a mental disorder developed before or after marriage, Chuang said.
The study does not mean that having a mental disorder would cause the person’s spouse to develop the same condition, she added.
The study shows that spousal relationships and a partner’s mental health should be taken into consideration during mental health assessments, she added.
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