Bad marriage, bad health
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-04-26 14:47 A troubled marriage may speed
the decline in health that comes with age, a study has found.
While research shows that married people often enjoy better health than
singles do, several studies have suggested that an unhappy marriage can take a
major health toll.
Some have found a higher rate of heart disease among people who are
dissatisfied with marriage.
This latest study, published in the American Journal of Health and Social
Behaviour, suggests that marital strain may be particularly damaging to the
health of older adults.
Lead researcher Dr Debra Umberson said it was the first study she knew of to
look at the health effects of marital problems on age.
Umberson, who chairs the sociology department at the University of
Texas-Austin, said there were several reasons why older adults could be more
vulnerable to marital woes.
Similar to the case with smoking, she said chronic stress could have a
cumulative effect on health over the years. Added to that was the fact that
older adults were more susceptible to these effects through age-related declines
in immune function and a higher rate of health problems such as heart disease.
Umberson and colleagues based their findings on data from a survey of US
adults begun in 1986. They focused on 1049 people who were interviewed at three
points over eight years and remained married throughout that time.
Study participants answered questions on marital quality - including whether
their spouse made them feel "loved and cared for" and listened to their concerns
- and whether they had frequent disagreements and conflicts.
They were also asked to rate their physical health from poor to excellent.
The study found that people who reported more marital strain also reported a
steeper decline in their health over time.
But when the researchers separated study participants into three age groups -
those aged 30, 50 and 70 at the study's start - only the oldest group showed
negative health. Similarly, only older adults showed health benefits from a
happy marriage.
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