New research just published in an academic journal suggests marriage may protect against the development of heart disease and stroke [1] 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.