Marriage Does Help the Heart, Study Finds
Marriage Does Help the Heart, Study Finds
By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, March 28, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Marriage is good for the heart, yet another study has found.
Married partners don't just have a lower risk of heart problems, the researchers said. They also have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease affecting the legs, neck or abdominal areas.
"We found that being married was associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease in general," said study researcher Dr. Carlos Alviar, a cardiology fellow at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.
Alviar is scheduled to present the findings Saturday at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, in Washington, D.C.
Although several other studies have found that marriage helps the heart and overall health, this newest one is believed to be the largest, Alviar said. And although some other studies have found the benefit greater for married men than for married women, this study did not find gender differences, he said.
For the new study, the researchers analyzed records from a database of more than 3.5 million people nationwide. All had been evaluated for cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and vascular problems in the limbs and other areas. The database included information on whether they had high blood pressure or diabetes, were smokers or were obese -- all risk factors for heart disease.
The participants' ages ranged from 21 to 102, and the average age was 64. Of all the people studied, 69 percent were married, 14 percent were widowed, 9 percent were divorced and 8 percent were single. The singles were considered the comparison group.
Even after taking into account risk factors such as age, gender and race, marriage was still protective, researchers found.
"Married men and women had 5 percent lower odds of any vascular disease," Alviar said, comparing them to singles. "Widowed men and women had 3 percent higher odds, and divorced men and women had 5 percent higher odds of any vascular disease."
Alviar called that degree of risk reduction good, but "not substantial." In younger people, however, the protection for the married men and women was even more pronounced, he said.
HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, March 28, 2014 (HealthDay News) -- Marriage is good for the heart, yet another study has found.
Married partners don't just have a lower risk of heart problems, the researchers said. They also have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease affecting the legs, neck or abdominal areas.
"We found that being married was associated with lower risks of cardiovascular disease in general," said study researcher Dr. Carlos Alviar, a cardiology fellow at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City.
Alviar is scheduled to present the findings Saturday at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology, in Washington, D.C.
Although several other studies have found that marriage helps the heart and overall health, this newest one is believed to be the largest, Alviar said. And although some other studies have found the benefit greater for married men than for married women, this study did not find gender differences, he said.
For the new study, the researchers analyzed records from a database of more than 3.5 million people nationwide. All had been evaluated for cardiovascular disease, including heart disease and vascular problems in the limbs and other areas. The database included information on whether they had high blood pressure or diabetes, were smokers or were obese -- all risk factors for heart disease.
The participants' ages ranged from 21 to 102, and the average age was 64. Of all the people studied, 69 percent were married, 14 percent were widowed, 9 percent were divorced and 8 percent were single. The singles were considered the comparison group.
Even after taking into account risk factors such as age, gender and race, marriage was still protective, researchers found.
"Married men and women had 5 percent lower odds of any vascular disease," Alviar said, comparing them to singles. "Widowed men and women had 3 percent higher odds, and divorced men and women had 5 percent higher odds of any vascular disease."
Alviar called that degree of risk reduction good, but "not substantial." In younger people, however, the protection for the married men and women was even more pronounced, he said.
