Marriage health claims are inconclusive

ConclusionThese findings should be taken quite lightly and should not give cause for concern, regardless of marital status. It is very difficult to draw meaningful interpretations from these findings, with the analyses showing mixed results.Generally, they found that men who never married or cohabited seemed to have the poorest health markers in midlife, compared to men who married and stayed married. Meanwhile, women who married in their late 20s to early 30s tended to have the best health markers in midlife. Strangely, there seemed to be the unusual suggestion that divorcing was “good” for men and women by being associated with reduced risk of metabolic syndrome, compared with staying married. However, this study does not prove cause and effect. There are complex interactions between personal relationships, health and lifestyle factors, and other life events and influences. This study is not able to pull this apart and explain the possible underlying reasons for any links between relationship status and the measured health markers. Importantly, the outcomes measured are only that – a varied collection of blood inflammatory and clotting factors, lung function and metabolic syndrome. These may increase the risk of, or be associated with, actual diseases, but these indicators are not diseases in themselves. For example, the fact that women who married later had lower levels of a particular blood clotting factor and better lung function than those who married earlier on a...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Mental health Source Type: news