People in stressful romantic relationships are at a higher risk of early death, a new Danish study finds.
Relationships can be demanding and more costly than previously believed. Researchers of a new study found that relationships filled with worry, conflicts and stress up the risk of an early death for both partners.
"Conflicts, especially, were associated with higher mortality risk regardless of whom was the source of the conflict. Worries and demands were only associated with mortality risk if they were related to partner of children," the authors said, according to NY Daily News.
For the study, researchers examined data from the Danish Longitudinal Study on Work, Unemployment and Health, including 9875 men and women aged 36-52 years. The study tracked their health from 2000 to the end of 2011. During this time, 4 percent of the women and 6 percent of men died. Around half of the deaths were due to cancer. The other causes of death included liver disease, accident, cardiovascular disease, and suicide.
The researchers measured the participants' stressful relationships by comparing answers about who in their lives cause worry and conflict. One in every 10 participant said that the cause of conflict in their lives was either their partner or child. Only six percent blamed other family members and 2 percent blamed their friends. The people who always or often experienced worries and demands from their partners had double the mortality risk compared to those without such experiences. Participants who frequently experienced worry or demands from children had a 50 percent higher mortality rate.
Those who often experienced conflict with partners or friends had double the risk of dying and triple the risk if they argued with neighbors. Arguments, demands, and not being in the labor force created a 4.5 times higher risk of death.
"I think it really adds to our broader understanding of the influence of relationships, not only on our overall health, but on our longevity - how long we actually live," Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a psychology researcher at Brigham Young University said, according to Reuters. "There are a couple of other studies that have shown that negativity in relationships actually is associated with greater risk of mortality, and this study looks specifically across different types of relationships as well and also looks at the gender effect which adds to our understanding."
Just like it is important to eat healthy and exercise for optimum health, having good relationships is another thing you can do to better your health. However, this does not mean that all relationships that sometimes experience conflict should be terminated.
The study was published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.
