Health Benefit Of Being Married? It May Help Blood Sugar Control, Study Finds

Does one's marital status have an impact on their health? Being married may help maintain blood sugar levels, regardless of the relationship's harmoniousness, a new study has found.

There has been evidence regarding the health benefits of being married, the researchers wrote in their study, which was published in BMJ (British Medical Journal) Open Diabetes Research & Care.

"Marital relationships have been extensively associated with positive health effects," they wrote. "However, one could expect that the quality of a marriage also matters for health outcomes."

For their study, the researchers looked at the association between marital status and marital quality with glycemic levels, the BMJ noted in a news release. They looked at biomarker data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), looking at information from 3,335 adults aged 50 to 89 who were not diagnosed with diabetes during the study's wave two from 2004-2005.

Participants went in for nurse visits in subsequent years wherein their blood samples were checked for average blood sugar/glucose levels (HbA1c). They were also asked about whether they had a partner they were living with (husband, wife or partner), as well as about the levels of strain and social support in their marital/cohabitating relationship.

Some 76% of the participants were married or cohabitating with a partner. The researchers found that being married was actually associated with lower HbA1c levels in both male and female adults "regardless of the quality of the relationship."

"Marital/cohabitating relationships were associated with a 0.21% decrease in HbA1c levels in this group," they wrote.

It's possible, then, that being married or in a cohabitating relationship may have a "protective effect against HbA1c levels above the pre-diabetes threshold," the researchers noted.

However, they also found that those who experienced marital transitions such as a divorce saw "significant changes" in their HbA1c levels as well as their odds of pre-diabetes, according to the BMJ.

Although the study is observational, thus unable to establish cause, and has some limitations, it does show a potential association between being in a marital/cohabitating relationship and blood glucose levels. It also shows potential health risks for adults who experience marital transitions.

"Increased support for older adults who are experiencing the loss of a marital/cohabitating relationship through divorce or bereavement, as well as the dismantling of negative stereotypes around romantic relationships in later life, may be starting points for addressing health risks, more specifically deteriorating glycemic regulation, associated with marital transitions in older adults," the researchers wrote.