Marriage cuts death rate by a third for women: new study

Marriage is good for women’s physical and mental health.

A large new longitudinal study published in Global Epidemiology found that marriage helps to reduce death rate by a third for females — even among those who later divorced.

The researchers argued that marriage is a near-universal pillar of humanity — and even as cultural changes have reshaped our view of the institution, it’s not only of value, it significantly improves the overall health and well-being of the fairer sex.

“Our findings, added to an already extensive literature showing the value of marriage, ought to serve as a wake-up call for a society in significant denial about this crucial element of flourishing,” wrote two of the study’s co-authors, a pair of Harvard professors, in a Wall Street Journal essay.

The study examined 11,830 American female nurses, mostly white and relatively well off, who were deciding on marriage in the early 1990s. None of the women had ever been hitched prior to enrolling in the study.

Decades later, the participants who tied the knot between 1989 and 1993 were then compared to those who never took the plunge.

Researchers examined how the women’s lives panned out after about 25 years, taking into account a variety of outcomes that included psychological well being, health and longevity.

The ladies who wed in that initial time frame — including women who later divorced — had a 35 percent lower risk of death than those who never married.

They also had lower risk of cardiovascular disease, less depression and loneliness, more optimism and a greater sense of purpose.

The researchers also established that there are benefits to staying married.

There was some evidence that the women who eventually divorced had a 19 percent higher risk of death during the follow-up period than those who stayed married.

Those who split up with their partners reported poorer health and well-being, including isolation and depression.

The authors acknowledged that more research is needed into marriage’s effect on men.

They also note that participants in their study belonged to Gen X — and therefore were influenced by a different set of cultural factors and norms than the Gen Zers currently coming into marrying age.

Despite these limitations, the authors called for policy changes “that promote healthy marriages,” especially with the American marriage rate plunging to record lows.

“In view of marriage’s profound effects on our sample’s health and well-being, it is unsettling to consider its rapid displacement from American life,” the researchers wrote.