WKU News

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Many studies have shown that married people tend to be in better health than singles, but that gap has been steadily narrowing in the U.S., a new study shows.

Since 1972, the health advantage linked to marriage has been fading among Americans, researchers found, primarily because never-married men are reporting better health these days.

The health gap has not narrowed among women, but this is because both single and married women have shown gains in self-reported health over time, explained lead researcher Hui Lui, an assistant professor of sociology at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

She and colleague Debra J. Umberson report the findings in the Journal of Health and Social Behavior. They based the results on an annual government health survey, pooling data from more than 1 million Americans surveyed between 1972 and 2003.

Traditionally, studies have found that married couples typically enjoy better health than those who remain single. Meanwhile, the formerly married -- either through divorce or widowhood -- have tended to be similar to married men and women in terms of selfrated health.

But the current study suggests that these trends are reversing: singles are catching up with married couples, while the formerly married have been seeing their health go downhill -- particularly widows.

The underlying reasons are not clear. One possibility, Liu and Umberson note, is that singles nowadays have more places to turn to for the types of social, psychological and economic resources once largely seen as the domain of marriage -- ranging from friends and relatives to social programs.

This may be particularly important for men. Historically, Liu told Reuters Health, nevermarried men have been the most "socially isolated" group, but that may be changing. For example, she said, as singlehood becomes more common, men may have more friends. In addition, the "stigma" of never marrying may have lessened over the years, which could mean less stress for singles.

There are also marriage alternatives -- like cohabitation and same-sex unions -- that could be offering many single adults some of the benefits of marriage, Liu noted. The finding that the formerly married are worse off now than three decades ago is "unexpected," according to the researchers.

The decline was particularly strong among the widowed -- which could have to do with the fact that older people with chronic medical conditions are living longer these days. However, divorced and separated adults, especially women, have also shown a decline in self- rated health over the years.

It will be important to uncover the reasons for these disparities, according to Liu, in part because of the large number of Americans who are or will be among the formerly married.

Moreover, she pointed out, the goal is to erase health disparities in the U.S. "Growing health disparity is not what we value in our society," she said.

SOURCE: Journal of Health and Social Behavior, September 2008.

Copyright © 2008 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.