And if the wedding allowed us to make old bones?
An American study by researchers at the University of California published in the specialized journal Osteoporosis International affirms that marriage is associated in men with good bone mineral density (BMD).
To analyze the beneficial effects of living together on health, the scientists studied the state of health of 294 men and 338 women for 10 years and compared their bone density and marital status.
Taking into account risk factors such as ethnic origin, body weight, socio-economic status, level of education, smoking and alcohol consumption, physical activity, the researchers found that Married men with no history of divorce or separation have a higher bone mineral density than single men or men with a history of separation or solitary life.
Density differences according to marital status
Newly divorced, widowed or separated men have a decrease in their BMD of 0.33.
A drop in BMD of 0.36 was found in those who are currently married, but ex-divorced, widowed or separated.
Men who have always lived alone have a lower BMD of 0.53, while men married before age 25 show a very small decrease in BMD.
The researchers explain this phenomenon as follows. They believe that “bone mass must be influenced by many stressors,” and claim “that divorce or loneliness increase them. »
Bad news, this health benefit of marriage was not seen in women.
This new study confirms an old medical investigation by researchers at Harvard Medical School. They analyzed for four years the state of health of 45,000 people who had had a cardiovascular disease or were at risk of having one. Scientists concluded that those who lived alone were more likely to die from heart attack, stroke or heart problems than those who did not live alone.
