Husband-wife correspondence in smoking, drinking, and dietary habits

The findings indicate that the diets of husbands and wives are generally similar and that the circumspect use of spouses as surrogates for dietary information in epidemiological studies can be appropriate.

Abstract

In order to determine the extent of correspondence between husbands and wives in their personal habits, a sample of 281 spouse pairs was interviewed regarding their smoking, drinking, and dietary habits. Both aggregate and within-pair agreements were examined. There was good correspondence between husbands and wives for a majority of the food items, the exceptions being foods that are more likely to be eaten away from home. While the agreement on wine consumption was also good, there was little correspondence between husbands and wives in their patterns of beer consumption and cigarette smoking. These findings indicate that the diets of husbands and wives are generally similar and that the circumspect use of spouses as surrogates for dietary information in epidemiological studies can be appropriate.