Mothers who live with either their or their partner's parents are at a threefold risk of heart disease, research shows.

A 14-year study conducted in Japan found that women aged between 40 and 69 were three times as likely to be diagnosed with coronery heart disease if they lived with their children and their parents/parents-in-law.

"The stress of fulfilling multiple roles as daughter/daughter-in-law, mother and partner probably has a deleterious effect on heart health," the report authors suggest.

"Over the long term, this is likely to boost levels of stress hormones and inflammatory proteins, which in turn may strengthen the effects of other risk factors, such as high blood pressure, or diabetes."

None of the participants in the study, published today in Heart, had been diagnosed with any serious illness, such as cancer, heart disease, or stroke.

They were quizzed about their personal and family medical histories, perceived stress, occupation, personality, and lifestyle factors, such as diet and exercise.

They were also asked about their domestic living arrangements and the family structure of their households.

During the monitoring period, which ended in 2004, 671 people were newly diagnosed with coronary artery disease, 339 died of coronary heart disease, and 6,255 died from other causes.

After taking account of factors likely to influence the results, women who lived with a partner, children, and their parents, or their spouse's parents, were two to three times more likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease than women who just lived with a partner.

But they were no more likely to die of their disease than their peers who lived with just a partner, suggesting that while living arrangements may boost the risk of diagnosis, it does not affect prognosis, say the authors.

But it was not just women living with parents and children who were at increased risk of serious heart problems.

Women who lived with a partner and children were also twice as likely to be diagnosed with coronary heart disease as those who lived in households without children.



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