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Gender disparity in the rate of partner abandonment in patients with serious medical illness

  1. Michael J. Glantz MD1,2,
  2. Marc C. Chamberlain MD3,†,*,
  3. Qin Liu PhD4,
  4. Chung-Cheng Hsieh ScD4,
  5. Keith R. Edwards MD5,
  6. Alixis Van Horn RN6,
  7. Lawrence Recht MD7

Article first published online: 30 JUL 2009

DOI: 10.1002/cncr.24577

Issue

Cancer

Cancer

Volume 115, Issue 22, pages 5237–5242, 15 November 2009

Additional Information

How to Cite

Glantz, M. J., Chamberlain, M. C., Liu, Q., Hsieh, C.-C., Edwards, K. R., Van Horn, A. and Recht, L. (2009), Gender disparity in the rate of partner abandonment in patients with serious medical illness. Cancer, 115: 5237–5242. doi: 10.1002/cncr.24577

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Oncology, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah

  2. 2

    Department of Neurosurgery, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah

  3. 3

    Department of Neurology, Division of Neuro-Oncology, University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Seattle, Washington

  4. 4

    Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts

  5. 5

    Department of Neurology, Southwestern Vermont Medical Center, Bennington, Vermont

  6. 6

    Department of Neurology, New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts

  7. 7

    Department of Neurology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, California

  1. †

    Fax: (206) 288-1130

*Department of Neurology, Division of Neuro-Oncology, University of Washington, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, 825 Eastlake Avenue E, Seattle, WA 98109-1023

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 3 NOV 2009
  2. Article first published online: 30 JUL 2009
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 30 JAN 2009
  4. Manuscript Revised: 28 JAN 2009
  5. Manuscript Received: 16 DEC 2008

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Keywords:

  • marital status;
  • divorce;
  • cancer;
  • multiple sclerosis;
  • brain tumor

Life-threatening illness creates severe stress that may result in marital discord, separation, or divorce and may adversely impact treatment, quality of life, and survival. The results of the current study demonstrated that partner abandonment in patients with serious medical illness was most pronounced in men and affected both quality of care and life.

Abstract

BACKGROUND:

Life-threatening illness creates severe stress that may result in marital discord, separation, or divorce and may adversely impact treatment, quality of life, and survival. The few studies that are available to date have suggested that the risk of divorce is not higher in cancer patients, but to the authors' knowledge, no data exist to date that have examined the effect of gender on this rate.

METHODS:

A total of 515 patients were prospectively identified as having either a malignant primary brain tumor (N = 214), a solid tumor with no nervous system involvement (N = 193), or multiple sclerosis (N = 108) who were married at the time of diagnosis. Basic demographic information and data regarding marital status were compiled. Patients were followed prospectively from enrollment until death or study termination.

RESULTS:

Women composed 53% of the patient population. Divorce or separation occurred at a rate similar to that reported in the literature (11.6%). There was, however, a greater than 6-fold increase in risk after diagnosis when the affected spouse was the woman (20.8% vs 2.9%; P < .001). Female gender was found to be the strongest predictor of separation or divorce in each cohort. Marriage duration at the time of illness was also correlated with separation among brain tumor patients (P = .0001). Patients with brain tumors who were divorced or separated were more likely to be hospitalized, and less likely to participate in a clinical trial, receive multiple treatment regimens, complete cranial irradiation, or die at home (P < .0001).

CONCLUSIONS:

Female gender was found to be a strong predictor of partner abandonment in patients with serious medical illness. When divorce or separation occurred, quality of care and quality of life were adversely affected. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society.

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