Marital status and longevity
In the September 2006 issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, Drs. R.M.Kaplan and R.G.Kronick, two researchers from the University of California in Los Angeles, described their investigation into marital status and longevity in the United States population.
After analysing a sample of over 66,000 people, they found that the death rate for people who were unmarried was significantly higher than it was for those who were married and living with their spouses. This effect was common to all categories of unmarried folk (those who had never married as well as those who were divorced or widowed) – but Kaplan and Kronick found that the observed difference was strongest in those who were never married.
Although their data did not indicate WHY being married was associated with longer survival, what their research showed was the simple truth that, for this study population at least, current marriage was associated with longer survival.
Has this phenomenon – that married people live longer than those who are not married – been observed in other populations?
Bangladesh and Australia
Another article comes from the Matlab district in rural Bangladesh. A survey of about 65,000 people aged between 15 and 44 revealed that divorced and never-married adults had a significantly higher death rate than their currently married peers! Similarly, a group from the University of Western Sydney which investigated the risk factors for stroke occurring in their study population in Dubbo, a small town in rural Australia, found that being married put people at a 30% lower risk of suffering a stroke.
Marriage asssociated with good health
Another American study published in 2004 by Schoenborn from the National Center for Health Statistics which investigated mortality and various indices of health status in a large sample population, revealed that regardless of population subgroup (age, sex, race, education, income or country of birth), married adults were generally found to be healthier than unmarried adults. The only negative health indicator which was more prevalent in married adults was being overweight or obese – with married men being particularly likely to be fatter than their unmarried counterparts!
Does marriage protect against ill health?
If the facts unearthed by these research studies can be extrapolated to other populations, what can explain the protective effect of marriage? Several theories have been postulated. Professor John McCallum, who led the research team that performed the Dubbo studies, believes that having a partner provides a confidante and purpose to life - as well as practical help. “If you’re not going to get married, you need to have substantial forms of good, reliable social support” he said. This could be interpreted as having someone to bring you a hot drink when you are down with the flu – as well as having someone who over-rules your protests and takes you to hospital when you insist that the chest ache you have suddenly developed is “just a muscle cramp”.
Companionship or Sex?
An interesting study (which may or not be related to the studies on marriage), published in the British Medical Journal in 1997, showed that in a study cohort of 918 men from Caerphilly in Wales, those who had sex on average two or more times per week had a mortality risk less than half what it was for those who had sex less than once a month.
So is it companionship or sex that provides the protective effect?
Does a happy marriage protect a man from an early death - or does an early death protect a man from an unhappy marriage?
Who knows?
Sanjiva Wijesinha - Dr. Sanjiva Wijesinha, Associate Professor at Monash University medical school, writes on health, travel and medical topics.
