New research just published in an academic journal suggests marriage may protect against the development of heart disease and stroke as well as influencing who is more likely to die of these diseases.

Researchers at Keele University in the UK drew on 34 previously published studies involving more than 2 million people aged 42-77 from all across the globe. Analysis of the data revealed that, compared with people who were married, those who were never married, divorced or widowed had a 42 per cent higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and a 16 per cent higher risk of coronary artery disease. Not being married was also associated with a heightened risk of dying from both coronary heart disease (42 per cent) and stroke (55 per cent).

Further analysis shows divorce is associated with a 35 per cent higher risk of developing heart disease for both men and women, while widowers of both sexes were 16 per cent more likely to have a stroke. While there was no difference in the risk of death following a stroke between the married and the unmarried, this is not the case after a heart attack; the risk of which is significantly higher (42 per cent) among those who had never married.