Understanding the relationships between states of marital dissolution, diabetes, and diabetes management in middle-aged and older adults.

The growing number of people in the U.S. with type 2 diabetes and the high cost of diabetesrelated health care point to a need to better understand who is at risk of diabetes and what factors are associated with better diabetes management. Diabetes is most common in middle aged and older adults; and marital dissolution (i.e., divorce and widowhood) is also increasingly common in middle-aged and older adults. Divorce and widowhood have been linked to more limited financial and social resources, poorer health behaviors, and worse mental and physical health, compared to those who remain married. Often there are differences in how divorce and widowhood affect resources and health, with further differences by gender. However, the links between states of marital dissolution and diabetes and its management have not been studied, particularly by gender with a focus on the implications for protection, crisis, and selection theories identified to explain those relationships within lifespan deve