The impact of XXXX on spouses' labor earnings: a population-based study.

@entity5 @entity1 @entity14
BACKGROUND: @entity5 affects @entity1 ' incomes, but to the authors' knowledge few studies to date have examined how the income of the @entity1 ' spouses may be influenced. In this population-based study from Norway, the effects of @entity5 on both partners' earnings are analyzed. METHODS: The difference between labor earnings the year before the @entity5 diagnosis and that 2, 5, or 8 years later was compared with the difference in earnings over a corresponding period for similar @entity1 without @entity5 , applying linear regression models to national registry data. Approximately 1.1 million married @entity1 ages 35 to 59 years were included, among them 17,250 @entity1 diagnosed with @entity5 during 1991 through 1999. RESULTS: Two and 5 years after a @entity5 diagnosis, married @entity1 experienced lower earnings than they would have absent the illness. @entity5 in wives, however, did not affect @entity1 's earnings. @entity1 's earnings were adversely influenced to the same extent by their own as by their spouses' @entity5 . Brain, lung, and @entity14 in male spouses produced the most adverse effects on @entity1 's earnings. All effects were most pronounced for @entity1 no longer married. CONCLUSIONS: @entity1 's earnings are lower after both their own and their spouses' @entity5 , and divorced and widowed @entity1 experience the most pronounced reduction after spousal @entity5 . @entity1 's earnings are lower only if they are diagnosed themselves. This may reflect traditional sex roles, with @entity1 as main breadwinners and @entity1 as caregivers. For family households, @entity5 in @entity1 may result in greater financial difficulties than @entity5 among @entity1 , although the effect will depend on breadwinner roles before diagnosis.
