A new study revealed that getting married decreases risk of developing heart diseases by five percent. The findings may help individuals to decide whom to marry and to accept a marriage for a healthy reason.
Researchers from the New York University Langone Medical Center concluded that those who are married have decreased risk of suffering from heart diseases compared to those who are single, divorced, or widowed.
They analyzed data of more than 3.5 million in the United States who were assessed for any cardiovascular diseases. About 63 percent of participants, who were aged between 21 and 102 years old, were women. Approximately 8.3 percent or 292,670 were single, 69.1 percent of them or 2.4 million were married, nine percent or 319,321 were divorced, and 13 percent, or 477,577, were widowed.
After analyzing the possible connection of cardiovascular disease to the participants' demographic information and cardiovascular risk factors, they found that the mostly associated factor is the marital status. The findings were consistent for both sexes.
They noted that married participants were five percent less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases. They were also eight percent less likely to develop abdominal aortic aneurysm, nine percent less likely to have cerebrovascular diseases, and 19 percent less likely to have peripheral arterial diseases.
Additionally, they found that divorcing and losing a partner were linked to a greater chance of developing vascular diseases.
"These findings certainly shouldn't drive people to get married, but it's important to know that decisions regarding who one is with, why, and why not may have important implications for vascular health," said study lead author Carlos L. Alviar M.D., in a press release.
"The association between marriage and a lower likelihood of vascular disease is stronger among younger subjects, which we didn't anticipate," he added.
This study will be presented during the 63rd Annual Scientific Session of the American College of Cardiology.
