Despite the portrayals on reality TV and horrible teen shows, marriage can be good for you.
According to The Almagest, a new study found that marriage is good for the heart. Married couples are reportedly less likely to have heart or blood vessel problems.
The study, which consisted of over 3.5 million Americans--ages 21 to 102--found that married couples were five percent less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases compared to people who are single, divorced or widowed.
According to the New York Daily News, Dr. Jeffrey Berger, a cardiologist at NYU Langone and co-author of the study, offers a possible explanation: "A partner can encourage you to move more, watch what you eat, see a health professional on a regular basis, things like that."
The link between marriage and reduced risk of cardiovascular disease is particularly strong before age 50; those who were married were 12 percent less likely to suffer any vascular disease. It dropped to seven for married people between 51 and 60 and four percent for those older than 61.
Lead investigator Dr. Carlos L. Alviar M.D., cardiology fellow, New York University Langone Medical Center, said in a news release that smaller studies reported similar findings, but the current study is the largest of its nature.
"The association between marriage and a lower likelihood of vascular disease is stronger among younger subjects, which we did not anticipate," Alviar said. "Of course, it's true that not all marriages are created equal, but we would expect the size of this study population to account for variations in good and bad marriages."
During the study 69 percent were married, 13 percent were widowed, nine percent were divorced and 8.3 percent single. The findings were consistent for both men and women across all four conditions. After accounting for age, sex, race and other cardiovascular risk factors, researchers discovered an independent link between marital status and cardiovascular disease.
"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," Alviar said in a news release.
The findings were presented at the American College of Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session.
