Risk of adverse outcomes considering marital status in the general population
| Outcome | Marital status and subgroups | Studies | No. of participants (not applicable, (NA) for studies with no crude result available) | Odds ratio (95% CI) | Overall effect, P values | Heterogeneity, I2 % | Subgroup differences between men only and women only (P values, I2) |
| CHD death | Unmarried vs married | ||||||
| All | 5 | >766 272 (2 NA) | 1.43 (1.28 to 1.60) | <0.001 | 57 | ||
| Men only | 3 | >16 137 (1 NA) | 1.28 (1.13 to 1.45) | <0.001 | 0 | 0.35, 0% | |
| Women only | 4 | >750 135 (1 NA) | 1.44 (1.16 to 1.78) | <0.001 | 25 | ||
| Men and women | 1 | NA | 1.60 (1.50 to 1.71) | <0.001 | – | ||
| Divorced vs married | |||||||
| All | 3 | >10 378 (2 NA) | 1.33 (1.04 to 1.70) | 0.02 | 0 | ||
| Men only | 3 | >6139 (2 NA) | 1.32 (1.00 to 1.73) | 0.05 | 0 | 0.90, 0% | |
| Women only | 2 | >4239 (1 NA) | 1.37 (0.78 to 2.43) | 0.27 | 0 | ||
| Widowed vs married | |||||||
| All | 2 | >10 105 (1 NA) | 0.78 (0.48 to 1.25) | 0.29 | 0 | ||
| Men only | 2 | >5940 (1 NA) | 0.50 (0.19 to 1.34) | 0.17 | 16 | 0.30, 8.7% | |
| Women only | 2 | >4165 (1 NA) | 0.92 (0.52 to 1.60) | 0.76 | 0 | ||
| Separated vs married | |||||||
| Men only | 1 | 10 330 | 1.31 (0.76 to 2.26) | 0.33 | – | ||
| Stroke death | Unmarried vs married | ||||||
| All | 2 | >11 404 (1 NA) | 1.55 (1.16 to 2.08) | 0.003 | 0 | ||
| Men only | 2 | >6485 (1 NA) | 1.55 (1.15 to 2.11) | 0.005 | 0 | 0.97, 0% | |
| Women only | 1 | 4919 | 1.52 (0.53 to 4.34) | 0.43 | – | ||
| Divorced vs married | |||||||
| All | 1 | 10 724 | 2.33 (1.11 to 4.89) | 0.03 | 0 | ||
| Men only | 1 | 6485 | 2.40 (1.03 to 5.59) | 0.04 | – | 0.89, 0% | |
| Women only | 1 | 4239 | 2.11 (0.45 to 9.86) | 0.34 | – | ||
| Widowed vs married | |||||||
| All | 1 | 10 105 | 1.09 (0.39 to 3.09) | 0.86 | 0 | ||
| Men only | 1 | 5940 | 0.55 (0.08 to 3.85) | 0.55 | – | 0.41, 0% | |
| Women only | 1 | 4165 | 1.44 (0.42 to 4.92) | 0.56 | – | ||
| CVD death | Unmarried vs married | ||||||
| All | 2 | >11 404 (1 NA) | 1.20 (0.55 to 2.65) | 0.65 | 89 | ||
| Men only | 2 | >6485 (1 NA) | 2.07 (0.72 to 5.94) | 0.17 | 92 | 0.16, 49.4% | |
| Women only | 2 | >4919 (1 NA) | 0.63 (0.18 to 2.26) | 0.48 | 83 | ||
| Divorced vs married | |||||||
| All | 3 | >20 769 (1 NA) | 1.56 (0.95 to 2.56) | 0.08 | 73 | ||
| Men only | 3 | >16 530 (1 NA) | 1.93 (1.22 to 3.06) | 0.005 | 71 | 0.25, 24.7% | |
| Women only | 2 | >4239 (1 NA) | 0.56 (0.07 to 4.37) | 0.58 | 80 | ||
| Widowed vs married | |||||||
| All | 2 | >10 105 (1 NA) | 0.96 (0.43 to 2.16) | 0.93 | 69 | ||
| Men only | 2 | >5940 (1 NA) | 1.38 (0.27 to 6.99) | 0.70 | 84 | 0.48, 0% | |
| Women only | 2 | >4165 (1 NA) | 0.70 (0.26 to 1.90) | 0.48 | 57 | ||
| Separated vs married | |||||||
| Men only | 1 | 10 330 | 1.43 (1.05 to 1.95) | 0.02 | – | ||
| All-cause mortality | Unmarried vs married | ||||||
| All | 4 | >33 145 (2 NA) | 1.31 (1.19 to 1.45) | <0.001 | 42 | ||
| Men only | 3 | >16 137 (1 NA) | 1.45 (1.26 to 1.66) | <0.001 | 11 | 0.01, 83.3% | |
| Women only | 3 | >17 008 (1 NA) | 1.12 (0.96 to 1.30) | 0.16 | 0 | ||
| Men and women | 1 | NA | 1.33 (1.28 to 1.38) | <0.001 | – | ||
| Divorced vs married | |||||||
| All | 2 | >10 378 (1 NA) | 1.43 (1.20 to 1.71) | <0.001 | 0 | ||
| Men only | 2 | >6139 (1 NA) | 1.39 (1.15 to 1.68) | <0.001 | 0 | 0.33, 0% | |
| Women only | 1 | 4239 | 1.86 (1.07 to 3.24) | 0.03 | – | ||
| Widowed vs married | |||||||
| All | 1 | 10 105 | 1.02 (0.70 to 1.48) | 0.93 | 0 | ||
| Men only | 1 | 5940 | 0.87 (0.50 to 1.52) | 0.62 | – | 0.45, 0% | |
| Women only | 1 | 4165 | 1.16 (0.70 to 1.93) | 0.57 | – | ||
| Separated vs married | |||||||
| Men only | 1 | NA | 1.24 (0.98 to 1.57) | 0.07 | – | ||
| CVD events | Unmarried vs married | ||||||
| Men and women | 1 | 1739 | 1.42 (1.00 to 2.01) | 0.05 | – | ||
| CHD events | Unmarried vs married | ||||||
| All | 8 | >1 011 397 (2 NA) | 1.16 (1.04 to 1.28) | 0.006 | 69 | ||
| Men only | 5 | >134 152 (2 NA) | 1.21 (1.14 to 1.30) | <0.001 | 0 | 0.20, 40.2% | |
| Women only | 5 | >867 894 (2 NA) | 1.10 (0.96 to 1.26) | 0.19 | 41 | ||
| Men and women | 1 | 9351 | 1.05 (0.69 to 1.60) | 0.82 | – | ||
| Divorced vs married | |||||||
| All | 3 | >12 812 (1 NA) | 1.35 (1.20 to 1.53) | <0.001 | 0 | ||
| Men only | 3 | >5389 (1 NA) | 1.35 (1.18 to 1.55) | <0.001 | 0 | 0.97, 0% | |
| Women only | 1 | NA | 1.36 (1.04 to 1.78) | 0.02 | – | ||
| Widowed vs married | |||||||
| Men only | 1 | 4754 | 1.78 (0.95 to 3.34) | 0.07 | – | ||
| Remarried vs married | |||||||
| All | 1 | NA | 1.21 (1.02 to 1.44) | 0.03 | 33 | ||
| Men only | 1 | NA | 1.13 (0.96 to 1.34) | 0.15 | – | 0.22, 33.1% | |
| Women only | 1 | NA | 1.35 (1.07 to 1.70) | 0.01 | – | ||
| Stroke events | Unmarried vs married | ||||||
| All | 4 | >19 829 (2 NA) | 1.23 (0.93 to 1.63) | 0.15 | 78 | ||
| Men only | 3 | >8640 (2 NA) | 1.01 (0.81 to 1.26) | 0.93 | 41 | 0.21, 35% | |
| Women only | 1 | 8268 | 1.27 (0.95 to 1.69) | 0.10 | – | ||
| Men and women | 1 | 2921 | 1.93 (1.34 to 2.78) | <0.001 | – | ||
| Divorced vs married | |||||||
| All | 4 | >26 843 (1 NA) | 1.15 (1.02 to 1.29) | 0.02 | 53 | ||
| Men only | 3 | >14 532 (1 NA) | 1.22 (1.02 to 1.46) | 0.03 | 46 | 0.47, 0% | |
| Women only | 2 | >9279 (1 NA) | 1.09 (0.86 to 1.39) | 0.47 | 77 | ||
| Men and women | 1 | 3032 | 0.94 (0.62 to 1.43) | 0.77 | – | ||
| Widowed vs married | |||||||
| All | 4 | >29 692 (1 NA) | 1.16 (1.09 to 1.23) | <0.001 | 0 | ||
| Men only | 3 | >13 728 (1 NA) | 1.16 (1.03 to 1.29) | 0.01 | 0 | 0.69, 0% | |
| Women only | 2 | >10 948 (1 NA) | 1.12 (1.04 to 1.22) | 0.004 | 0 | ||
| Men and women | 1 | 5016 | 1.33 (1.12 to 1.57) | <0.001 | – | ||
CHD, coronary heart disease; CVD, cardiovascular disease.