There have been numerous studies over the years which look at the relationship between being married and health. Here is a small selection:
A recent study in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) found that being married reduced the risk of Type 2 diabetes and this was the case even if the marriage was quite stressful. [1]
A 2007 study, published in the journal Population Studies and spanning seven European countries, found that married people had age-adjusted mortality rates 10-15 per cent lower than the population as a whole. The difference was greater for men than women.[2]
A 2018 review of several studies showed that being married decreased the risk of heart disease.[3]
In 2016, a study published in the journal Cancer concluded that being married boosts your chances of surviving cancer. [4]
When people get married they make these promises:
“I, (name), take you, (name)
to be my wife/husband,
to have and to hold
from this day forward;
for better, for worse,
for richer, for poorer,
in sickness and in health,
to love and to cherish,
till death us do part,
according to God’s holy law.
In the presence of God I make this vow.”
One of the things that they promise is to love each other “in sickness and in health”. We can see from medical evidence that married people are more likely to live longer and be healthier than those who are unmarried. This, of course, does not mean that married people don’t get ill – just that in general their health is better. These promises also mean that a married person will have someone to care for them when they do become unwell.
Marriage is a good gift from God and it is therefore not surprising that it seems to be good for our health. God is our creator and therefore following his ways is always best.
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”
Genesis 2:24
