Close X
Saturday, November 23, 2024
ADVT 
Life

Failed marriage bad for older couples' heart

Darpan News Desk IANS, 20 Nov, 2014 11:00 AM
    Older couples in a bad marriage - particularly female spouses - face a higher risk of heart disease than those in a good marriage, finds the first nationally representative study of its kind.
     
    Marriage counselling is focused largely on younger couples.
     
    "But results show that marital quality is just as important at older ages, even when the couple has been married for 40 or 50 years," said lead investigator Hui Liu, a Michigan State University sociologist.
     
    Liu analysed five years of data from about 1,200 married men and women who participated in the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project.
     
    Respondents were aged 57-85 at the beginning of the study.
     
    Liu set out to learn how marital quality is related to risk of heart disease over time, and whether this relationship varies by gender and age.
     
    She found that negative martial quality has a bigger effect on heart health than positive marital quality.
     
    "In other words, a bad marriage is more harmful to your heart health than a good marriage is beneficial," Liu noted.
     
    The effect of marital quality on cardiovascular risk becomes much stronger at older ages.
     
    "Over time, the stress from a bad marriage may stimulate more and more intense, cardiovascular responses because of the declining immune function and increasing frailty that typically develop in old age," Liu explained.
     
    Marital quality has a bigger effect on women's heart health than it does on men's, "possibly because women tend to internalise negative feelings and are more likely to feel depressed and develop cardiovascular problems," the author continued.
     
    The study, funded by the US National Institute of Aging, was published online in the Journal of Health and Social Behaviour.

    MORE Life ARTICLES

    Review: Rock ‘N’ Roll musical, Red Rock Diner

    Review: Rock ‘N’ Roll musical, Red Rock Diner
    This infectious musical captures the excitement and innocence of the city’s burgeoning rock ‘n’ roll scene.

    Review: Rock ‘N’ Roll musical, Red Rock Diner

    Unveil your mind at first-ever sex exhibition

    Unveil your mind at first-ever sex exhibition
    With over 200 erotic objects, a sex exhibition titled "The Institute of Sexology" was Thursday opened for public at the prestigious Wellcome Collection in London....

    Unveil your mind at first-ever sex exhibition

    Early maturity heightens depression risk in boys too

    Early maturity heightens depression risk in boys too
    Entering puberty ahead of their peers increases depression risk over time in both sexes - not just in girls as commonly thought, new research shows....

    Early maturity heightens depression risk in boys too

    Gift Guide: Dragons, Aliens, Robots And Superheroes For The Gamer On Your List

    Gift Guide: Dragons, Aliens, Robots And Superheroes For The Gamer On Your List
    Sony's PlayStation 4 video-game console has built an impressive lead over its competitors. That's good news for holiday shoppers because it has driven Microsoft and Nintendo to offer more budget-friendly holiday deals on their consoles.

    Gift Guide: Dragons, Aliens, Robots And Superheroes For The Gamer On Your List

    A Fresh Selection Of Christmas-theme Picture Books For Kids

    A Fresh Selection Of Christmas-theme Picture Books For Kids
    NEW YORK — Looking to keep the kids entertained during long holiday car rides or dinners? Tell all your gift-buying elves to wrap up a book.

    A Fresh Selection Of Christmas-theme Picture Books For Kids

    Shake Up Pet Gift Giving With Unique Holiday Options: Camera Mount For Dogs, Ugly Sweaters

    Shake Up Pet Gift Giving With Unique Holiday Options: Camera Mount For Dogs, Ugly Sweaters
    Pet owners looking to launch the next Internet sensation or just longing for a new view of their dog's dashing and digging won't have to shop for long to find the perfect holiday gift.

    Shake Up Pet Gift Giving With Unique Holiday Options: Camera Mount For Dogs, Ugly Sweaters

    PrevNext