Unsuccessful marriages usually make people sad or angry, and mental health can also affect physical health. So, is marriage satisfaction related to disease risk or length of life?
London, U.K. (Business Northeast) – The Israeli research team tracked and analyzed 10,000 men for 32 years. They found that men who believed their marriage was unsuccessful were more likely to die from cardiovascular disease than the average person.
Researchers led the study from the School of Public Health at the Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University: Prof. Uri Goldbort from the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, who initiated and managed the long-term study; Dr. Shahar Lev -Ari, the head of the Department of Health Promotion; and Dr. Yiftah Gapner, from the Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine.
The research data comes from a database that began to be collected in the 1960s. The researchers tracked and analyzed 10,000 Israeli men for 32 years. At the beginning of the study, most of the participants were in their 40s.
Early in the study, the participants were asked to rank their level of satisfaction from their marriage from one (very successful) to four (unsuccessful).
Studies have shown that men who describe unsuccessful marriages have a significantly higher risk of stroke and death. Compared with those who believed their marriage was successful, those who believed their marriage was unsuccessful had a 19% increase in death rate and a 69% increase in the risk of dying from a stroke.
Researchers also found that men who believe their marriages are unsuccessful are more than 20% more likely to die from cardiovascular disease, including diabetes, high blood pressure, and overweight.
“It’s important to note that we observed a higher risk among relatively young men, under the age of 50,” Dr. Shahar Lev-Ari, was quoted as saying in the study. “At a higher age, the gap is smaller, perhaps due to processes of adjustment that life partners go through overtime.”
“The results of our study suggest that marital dissatisfaction may predict an elevated risk of all-cause mortality,” the researchers wrote in the article.
Related information: Dissatisfaction with Married Life in Men Is Related to Increased Stroke and All-Cause Mortality
