The title of this commentary is not a joke. Marital status seems to have a major impact on health. Traditionally, stability in intimate relations has positive effects on health and quality of life parameters, especially in old age. This assumption even translates into smaller insurance costs of married versus divorced persons. But recent data from the WHI observational study now challenges this accepted belief [1]. Among 79,094 postmenopausal women, transitions into marriage/marriage-like relationship after menopause were associated with greater increase in body mass index (BMI) and alcohol intake relative to remaining unmarried. Divorce/separation was associated with a reduction in BMI and waist circumference, changes that were accompanied by improvements in diet quality and physical activity, relative to women who remained married. The message coming from these results is that, contrary to earlier literature, in a cohort of well-educated, predominantly non-Hispanic white women, marital transitions after menopause are accompanied by modifiable health outcomes/behaviors that are more favorable for women experiencing divorce/separation than those entering a new marriage.
Author(s)
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Amos Pines
Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
