Why are married people healthier?

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Xantippe

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Here’s a piece from The Economist:

economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/01/economist-explains-0?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email

Some quotes:

“THE link between marriage and better health is well established. Less clear is whether marriage causes good health or vice versa—healthy people may simply be more likely to marry in the first place.”

“They find that the gap in self-reported health between married people and singletons persists after controlling for things like income, age, and race; and that it increases over time, from three percentage points at younger ages to a peak of 12 percentage points between 55 and 59.”

That’s very interesting–that there is an increasing effect over time.

“Next, they traced individuals’ health over time, in order to isolate how much of a person’s health is innate and permanent. That enabled the researchers to compensate for the fact that individuals with the physical and personality traits associated with good genes are more likely to marry in the first place. Once this measure is taken into account, the health gap between married people and singletons disappears at ages below 39. That suggests marriage is not having an effect on health when people are younger. Instead, causation runs the other way: the data suggest innate health drives up the probability of getting hitched.”

"But the picture is different for older people. There is still a six-percentage-point health gap between married and unmarried people between the ages of 55 and 59, a difference that cannot be explained by innate health. The researchers conclude that over time, marriage seems to be adding its very own dose of good health to a relationship, something they dub the “protective effect”.

“How might this effect work? Insurance is one factor, at least in America: single people there are less likely to have health insurance than couples. But another factor may be behavioural. Marriage seems to encourage healthier behaviour: a single person is 13 percentage points more likely to give up smoking if he gets married than if he doesn’t. Married people are more likely than unmarried ones to have preventative health checks across a range of conditions—around 6% more likely to check their cholesterol or have a prostate or breast examination at the ages of 50-54, for example.”
 
I can believe that most of us innately look for someone who exudes “health” to us when we marry. We also have to have the belief that we are attractive, that we have something to offer, that we are competent to take care of someone else and flexible enough to accommodate the needs of someone else we care for, and have the optimism to think that a relationship with someone else bodes well for our future happiness and well-being. When it comes to health in old age, we are also more likely to have someone to hold us accountable about taking care of ourselves and looking out for our long-term health.

If you look at priests and religious, who have many of the marks of someone who’d make a good spouse, they are also happier and healthier than the general population.

The effect of divorce on health and happiness compared to never marrying is a telling statistic. Men are more likely than women to find divorce devastating, but it is a major life stressor for anyone.
 
Interesting article.
Thanks.

Happily married since 1964 :heaven:
 
Xantippe said:
Here’s a piece from The Economist:

economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/01/economist-explains-0?utm_source=nextdraft&utm_medium=email

Some quotes:

“THE link between marriage and better health is well established. Less clear is whether marriage causes good health or vice versa—healthy people may simply be more likely to marry in the first place.”

“They find that the gap in self-reported health between married people and singletons persists after controlling for things like income, age, and race; and that it increases over time, from three percentage points at younger ages to a peak of 12 percentage points between 55 and 59.”

That’s very interesting–that there is an increasing effect over time.

“Next, they traced individuals’ health over time, in order to isolate how much of a person’s health is innate and permanent. That enabled the researchers to compensate for the fact that individuals with the physical and personality traits associated with good genes are more likely to marry in the first place. Once this measure is taken into account, the health gap between married people and singletons disappears at ages below 39. That suggests marriage is not having an effect on health when people are younger. Instead, causation runs the other way: the data suggest innate health drives up the probability of getting hitched.”

"But the picture is different for older people. There is still a six-percentage-point health gap between married and unmarried people between the ages of 55 and 59, a difference that cannot be explained by innate health. The researchers conclude that over time, marriage seems to be adding its very own dose of good health to a relationship, something they dub the “protective effect”.

“How might this effect work? Insurance is one factor, at least in America: single people there are less likely to have health insurance than couples. But another factor may be behavioural. Marriage seems to encourage healthier behaviour: a single person is 13 percentage points more likely to give up smoking if he gets married than if he doesn’t. Married people are more likely than unmarried ones to have preventative health checks across a range of conditions—around 6% more likely to check their cholesterol or have a prostate or breast examination at the ages of 50-54, for example.”
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Interesting! 👍
 
I wonder if it’s a question of partly having another person (or persons) to live for, so married people might take better care of their health than someone with fewer people relying on them. I’ve been married for a bit over two years now, and we have a daughter. Due in no small part to my husband and daughter, I’ve been exercising regularly now for a while. I still loathe it and find it utterly boring, but I want to be here to enjoy retirement with my husband, so it’s a tradeoff I’m willing to make. I want to dance at my daughter’s wedding. I don’t want to be essentially handicapped by 50, as my father was due to weight and other issues, mostly (though not solely) because I want to still be able to enjoy the things that I do enjoy, and have fun with my husband and kids. So I exercise, I get an annual physical, and I try (looks embarrassedly at the bowl formerly contain popcorn) to eat better than I used to. I’d still care if I were single, but not as much.
 
Simple.

Married people have someone else to attend to their bodies.

ICXC NIKA.
 
UbiCaritas said:
I wonder if it’s a question of partly having another person (or persons) to live for, so married people might take better care of their health than someone with fewer people relying on them.

**I think having an accountability partner at home is important. And the accountability can be implicit, rather than explicit.

Once, when I was a newlywed and old enough to know better, I found myself home alone for Easter with a large supply of Easter candy. I had chocolate for breakfast, went to work, and had felt so unwell that I had to go home early.

That would never have happened if my husband had been at home, even though he’s not actually standing over me saying self-evident stuff like, “Don’t eat nothing but chocolate bunnies for breakfast and then go to work!” **

I’ve been married for a bit over two years now, and we have a daughter. Due in no small part to my husband and daughter, I’ve been exercising regularly now for a while. I still loathe it and find it utterly boring, but I want to be here to enjoy retirement with my husband, so it’s a tradeoff I’m willing to make. I want to dance at my daughter’s wedding. I don’t want to be essentially handicapped by 50, as my father was due to weight at other issues, mostly (though not solely) because I want to still be able to enjoy the things that I do enjoy, and have fun with my husband and kids. So I exercise, I get an annual physical, and I try (looks embarrassedly at the bowl formerly contain popcorn) to eat better than I used to. I’d still care if I were single, but not as much.
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Awww.
 
Xantippe said:
Awww.
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The accountability thing helps me with eating well, too, though it is rather exasperating having a husband who can eat anything he wants, not exercise at all, and never weigh more than the mid-120s. Judging by his apparent genetics (ie, parents), he’ll have that for all his life. glares, stomps foot, declares this to be grossly unfair

Accountability also works in a more positive sense for us, too. I hate running, as does he (though he’s very good at it), but I’m better at getting us to actually get out the door for the run than he is. He, on the other hand, doesn’t let me quit halfway when I’m thinking things not lawful to be uttered about exercise in general and running in particular. It’s a good balance.
 
GEddie said:
Simple.

Married people have someone else to attend to their bodies.

ICXC NIKA.
Click to expand...
But if you marry someone who doesn’t care much about their health and is the main cook and you don’t know much either or are busy, (mostly it is men who suffer this fate) then they give you plenty health problems before you hit 45:eek: (I know such people).

E.j. Perchenough
 
But I also believe that that someone loves you has also an effect. Because no girl likes me, my health got worse over the last years.
 
Ejperchenough said:
But if you marry someone who doesn’t care much about their health and is the main cook and you don’t know much either or are busy, (mostly it is men who suffer this fate) then they give you plenty health problems before you hit 45:eek: (I know such people).

E.j. Perchenough
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But a man who was a better, healthier cook wouldn’t allow that to happen. Presumably, the kind of guy you’re thinking about wouldn’t do any better on his own.

The dynamic may be that if there are two adults in a household, it raises the chance that one of the adults will be knowledgeable and conscientious about food.

By the way, I just realized that in previous studies, it’s always been the case that men’s health is improved by marriage in a way that women’s health isn’t, so combining the two genders int a single set of numbers may mask how big the health benefits for men are.

From a 2010 study:

"Numerous studies conducted over the past 150 years suggest that marriage is good for health. Now scientists are beginning to understand how marriage affects heart disease, cancer, and other conditions in men, says Harvard Men’s Health Watch.

"A recent report from the Framingham Offspring Study notes that married men had a 46% lower rate of death than unmarried men, even after taking into account major cardiovascular risk factors. In this study, the happiness of the marriage did not seem to influence the overall protective effect. In other studies, though, marital unhappiness and stress were linked with high blood pressure (hypertension), an important cardiac risk factor. Over time, marital stress is associated with thickening of the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber. On the flip side, a supportive marriage is associated with improved survival among men who develop heart failure.

“Marriage doesn’t appear to reduce the overall risk of getting cancer, but it may influence the outcome. One survey of people with cancer found that those who were unmarried were more likely to have advanced disease at the time of diagnosis than those who were married. Among those who receive cancer therapy, marriage has been linked to improved survival.”

health.harvard.edu/press_releases/marriage-leads-to-better-health-for-men
 
Married 35 years.

I can think of a few reasons why marriage = healthier, and both of them have to do with stress, which is a destroyer of health.
  1. Two people to deal with everyday tasks and occasional crises. In our house, we divide up the living chores, and each of us does what we are good at doing. E.g., my husband deals with taxes, finances, etc. I deal with shopping, cooking, etc. He does the “heavy lifting.” I do the “social calendar” (family dinners, etc.).
A single person has to do all of this themselves, and in addition, when there’s a “crisis,” they have no one to call to say, “Help, the dishwasher is leaking all over the floor!” “Help, I just got laid off!” .
  1. Loneliness is very stressful. Many of us enjoy being “alone,” but we don’t enjoy being lonely. It’s nice having someone else to be with!
 
I wasn’t just thinking about food; there’s more to a sound embodiment than that.

Having someone else intimate with one’s body can pick up vital signs that the body’s mind might miss or suppress: see skin-cancer marks on the back or neck, observe a gradual loss of wellbeing, etc.

ICXC NIKA
 
I’d add that it’s not unusual for people to be doctor-phobic and dentist-phobic or to not make time for their health. This is somewhat gendered–I think it’s generally husbands who balk at regular medical or dental care, while it is often wives making medical or dental appointments for a spouse. (I’m sure there are exceptions, but this dynamic is not unusual.)
 
Interesting article.

Also, we all are less healthy as we age to the point that we die.🤷

I would say that it is the same reason married people have better XYZ They generally care enough to have at least filed paperwork with another person.
Why do people who go to Church have less of a rate of imprisonment? Etc. It is not because they are somehow better or more Holy but make better decisions.
Why are educated people healthier? Why are rich people Healthier?
Why are religious people Healthier?
 
Hoosier_Daddy said:
Interesting article.

Also, we all are less healthy as we age to the point that we die.🤷

I would say that it is the same reason married people have better XYZ They generally care enough to have at least filed paperwork with another person.
Why do people who go to Church have less of a rate of imprisonment? Etc. It is not because they are somehow better or more Holy but make better decisions.
Why are educated people healthier? Why are rich people Healthier?
Why are religious people Healthier?
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That’s a good point.

I think being willing to make an effort is generally valuable, even when the thing that one is making an effort about isn’t innately valuable.

But here’s a story:

My grandma and my grandpa have been married since 1946. He is 93 and she is 89 and they still live in their own home. Some years ago, she started losing her vision and he had to have a hip replacement replaced (he’d worn the first one out). She wasn’t able to measure things in the kitchen, but he was able to help her. And he wasn’t able to bend over to tie his shoes, but she was able to do it for him. They both have had physical problems, but they have had different physical problems, so they have been able to help each other and (knock on wood) are still in their own home. (A big deal to grandma–“nursing home” is just about the dirtiest word she knows.)

I think it is fairly clear how in a marriage that is a working partnership, each is able to do things for the other that the other can’t do for himself. I think there’s also a lot of survival value in what’s popularly known as “nagging.”
 
Cat said:
Married 35 years.

I can think of a few reasons why marriage = healthier, and both of them have to do with stress, which is a destroyer of health.
  1. Two people to deal with everyday tasks and occasional crises. In our house, we divide up the living chores, and each of us does what we are good at doing. E.g., my husband deals with taxes, finances, etc. I deal with shopping, cooking, etc. He does the “heavy lifting.” I do the “social calendar” (family dinners, etc.).
A single person has to do all of this themselves, and in addition, when there’s a “crisis,” they have no one to call to say, “Help, the dishwasher is leaking all over the floor!” “Help, I just got laid off!” .
  1. Loneliness is very stressful. Many of us enjoy being “alone,” but we don’t enjoy being lonely. It’s nice having someone else to be with!
Click to expand...
Yes–consider how hard it is on a person to go through a bereavement or a divorce. It isn’t just the health of married people that gives evidence, but the health hit that people take when they become “unmarried.”

I do think that people a) choose people to marry that they see as healthy, which skews the pool and b) choose people to marry who make them feel better and want to live in a healthier way.

It is also possible that the state of not being married takes its toll, especially in a society where so many people do marry. People who do not marry even though they want to marry (whether marriage is the norm or not) can take their situation personally, too, and that is extremely stressful. It is easy to go from “I haven’t found anyone yet” to “Nobody wants me” and “Maybe I’ll be left alone forever,” and those are not happy or health-enhancing thoughts.
 
EasterJoy said:
Yes–consider how hard it is on a person to go through a bereavement or a divorce. It isn’t just the health of married people that gives evidence, but the health hit that people take when they become “unmarried.”

I do think that people a) choose people to marry that they see as healthy, which skews the pool and b) choose people to marry who make them feel better and want to live in a healthier way.

It is also possible that the state of not being married takes its toll, especially in a society where so many people do marry. People who do not marry even though they want to marry (whether marriage is the norm or not) can take their situation personally, too, and that is extremely stressful. It is easy to go from “I haven’t found anyone yet” to “Nobody wants me” and “Maybe I’ll be left alone forever,” and those are not happy or health-enhancing thoughts.
Click to expand...
I agree with the post above. Also, some other reasons that married people are healthier or better off (which may or may not have been mentioned):

-Higher income levels
-More likely to have health insurance
-Someone is looking out for you (spouse) and vice versa.
-You feel responsibility to your spouse/family to take care of yourself (doc/dentist appts).
-You have someone there for you (to confide in, split chores, handle things, etc)
-Just the general positive mindset/feelings associated with love and togetherness
-Intimacy reduces stress
-Couples/families tend to cook/eat dinner together and/or have regular meals. Single people may eat on the couch in front of the TV.
-Advantages in retirement with two people
-Harder to do recreational things as a single person later in life. (vacations are more expensive on one income, or no one to do something with or share an experience)
 
I guess it’s the social support that factors into the longevity calculation.

I wonder what is the life expectancy of nuns that live in communities? Have they done studies?
 
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