Married couples are less likely to develop heart disease than those who are single, divorced and widowed, says a new study.
For the study, the researchers surveyed 3.5 million adults in America and found heart disease were less likely to develop in them.
Several other related studies have also made similar findings but this study was a bit different as far as its study size as well as the ability to consider four different vascular diseases — peripheral artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm and coronary artery disease are concerned.
The researchers studied records of 3.5 million people in the age group 21 to 102( with an average age of 64). They were evaluated for cardiovascular diseases. Overall, 69 percent were married, 13 percent were widowed, 8.3 percent were single and 9 percent were divorced.
After adjusting for age, sex, race and other cardiovascular risk factors, the researchers found that the marital status was independently linked with cardiovascular disease , in case of both men and women across the four conditions of vascular disease. Married people were 5 percent less likely to have any vascular disease compared with singles, they said.
Findings of the study
- People who were divorced or widowed was associated with a greater likelihood of vascular disease compared with being single or married. Divorce was linked with a higher risk of any vascular disease.
- For people age 50 and younger, marriage is associated with 12 percent lower odds of any vascular disease, but this dropped to 7 percent for those ages 51 to 60 and only 4 percent for those age 61 and older.
“The association between marriage and a lower likelihood of vascular disease is stronger among younger subjects, which we didn’t anticipate,” lead author Dr. Carlos L. Alviar, a cardiology fellow at the New York University Langone Medical Center, said in a statement.
The findings are scheduled to be presented at the American College of Cardiology’s 63rd Annual Scientific Session in Washington.
