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63/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 63 out of 100. Getting a diagnosis

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Results Overall, 383,480 husbands (74 percent) and 347,269 wives (67 percent) were hospitalized at least once, and 252,557 husbands (49 percent) and 156,004 wives (30 percent) died. After adjustment for measured covariates, the risk of death for men was not significantly higher after a spouse's hospitalization for colon cancer (hazard ratio, 1.02; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.95 to 1.09) but was higher after hospitalization for stroke (hazard ratio, 1.06; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.03 to 1.09), congestive heart failure (hazard ratio, 1.12; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.07 to 1.16), hip fracture (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.11 to 1.18), psychiatric disease (hazard ratio, 1.19; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.26), or dementia (hazard ratio, 1.22; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.32). Overall, for men, the risk of death associated with a spouse's hospitalization was 22 percent of that associated with a spouse's death (95 percent confidence interval, 17 to 27 percent); for women, the risk was 16 percent of that associated with death (95 percent confidence interval, 8 to 24 percent). Conclusions Among elderly people hospitalization of a spouse is associated with an increased risk of death, and the effect of the illness of a spouse varies among diagnoses.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Christakis, N. A., & Allison, P. D. (2006). Mortality after the hospitalization of a spouse. The New England journal of medicine. https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmsa050196

Vancouver

Christakis NA, Allison PD. Mortality after the hospitalization of a spouse. The New England journal of medicine. 2006. doi:10.1056/nejmsa050196. PMID: 16481639.

BibTeX

@article{christakis2006-16481639,
  author  = {Christakis, N. A. and Allison, P. D.},
  title   = {{Mortality after the hospitalization of a spouse}},
  journal = {The New England journal of medicine},
  year    = {2006},
  doi     = {10.1056/nejmsa050196},
  pmid    = {16481639},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1056/nejmsa050196}
}

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Key findings

Results Overall, 383,480 husbands (74 percent) and 347,269 wives (67 percent) were hospitalized at least once, and 252,557 husbands (49 percent) and 156,004 wives (30 percent) died.
After adjustment for measured covariates, the risk of death for men was not significantly higher after a spouse's hospitalization for colon cancer (hazard ratio, 1.02; 95 percent confidence interval, 0.95 to 1.09) but was higher after hospitalization for stroke (hazard ratio, 1.06; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.03 to 1.09), congestive heart failure (hazard ratio, 1.12; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.07 to 1.16), hip fracture (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.11 to 1.18), psychiatric disease (hazard ratio, 1.19; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.26), or dementia (hazard ratio, 1.22; 95 percent confidence interval, 1.12 to 1.32).
Overall, for men, the risk of death associated with a spouse's hospitalization was 22 percent of that associated with a spouse's death (95 percent confidence interval, 17 to 27 percent); for women, the risk was 16 percent of that associated with death (95 percent confidence interval, 8 to 24 percent).
Conclusions Among elderly people hospitalization of a spouse is associated with an increased risk of death, and the effect of the illness of a spouse varies among diagnoses.

Why it matters

Among elderly people, having a spouse hospitalized was linked to a higher risk of death for men, with the risk varying by the spouse's diagnosis and being higher after a spouse's hospitalization for dementia. This is about the health toll on caregivers, not about treating, curing, or preventing Alzheimer's disease itself.

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Study details

Participants518,240
Evidence strengthLow

How this study scored 63/100

Published in a top-tier journal. Scored zero for study design, effect reported and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	10 / 10	Tier 1 — top-tier general journal (The New England journal of medicine)
Journal's citation record	4 / 4	New England Journal of Medicine: journal h-index 1,505 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	0 / 12	No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Strength of evidence	1 / 5	Rated “low” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	1 / 5	2006 — older than 20 years, still counted
Sample size	4 / 4	518,240 participants
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomised / blinded	0 / 2	No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	6 / 7	Cited 499 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	4 / 5	22.7 citations a year over 22 year(s) since 2006
Impact for its field and year	6 / 6	Cited 90.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	3 / 6	Cited by 17 other studies in this library
Still being cited	2 / 4	Cited 27 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Paul D. Allison: h-index 58 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	3 / 3	Harvard University: institution h-index 3,235 (OpenAlex)
Multi-centre collaboration	1 / 3	OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 16481639)
Free to read	0 / 2	Behind a paywall — scores zero
Total	63 / 100	—

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