Married people are healthier than single people, UAB research project reveals

Barcelona (ACN).– Recent research has found that married people are healthier than single people. The reasons for this were not clear - whether this condition is caused by marriage or was simply coincidence. Therefore, some researchers from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) have investigated the benefits of marriage for people’s health. They have shown that marriage has positive effects on the health of people aged 40 and over. The reason for this link between health and marriage is the couple’s role in taking care of each other. In addition, married people are more likely to have health insurance. 

The researchers also highlighted that people who are more inclined to marry are innately healthy. In many instances they have particular physical and psychological features, linked to gene quality and good health, which result in them being more attractive and therefore having a greater possibility of getting married. In this case, it is more probable that people who have good health due to quality genes are married and this would also explain the difference in health between married and single people.

The research has been carried out by the Economic Department of the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, the Catalan Institution of Research and the MOVE Foundation, and they make use of statistical data from the USA. Researchers believe that these results can be useful in forming public policy linked to health and family.