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Fact Buster
Q: Do married people live longer?
A: Yes, married people live longer than their single friends.
Published 03/09/2008
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There are many things you can do if you want to live a long, happy and healthy life – get plenty of exercise, watch what you eat, don't smoke or drink too much, or you can get married.
While for many years demographers found that men in spousal relationships lived longer than women in the same situation, recent Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data on death rates shows people living in intimate relationships – both men and women – have lower death rates than single people in almost all age groups.
The ABS data, which compares the rate of death per 1,000 for single people versus married ones (including those in de facto relationships), shows the difference in death rates between single and married people starts in the 40s and continues across the lifespan.
The difference spikes in the 70-84 year old age group where the death rate for single people is almost double that of their married friends.
In the last 20 years, married women have started to enjoy a longer life span than their single counterparts, says Professor Peter McDonald from the Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute.
While demographers are not altogether sure why the situation has changed for married women in recent times, McDonald says there are several reasons experts believe married couples live longer.
For a start, those who are at greater risk of dying are less likely to get hitched.
"If you're going to die then you don't get married, or if you've got some terrible disease you don't get married," he says.
"So those with potentially high death risks are selected out into the single population."
There's also the 'in sickness and in health' factor. People living in intimate relationships are more likely to have someone looking after them when they're sick, telling them when to go to the doctor or encouraging them to live a healthier lifestyle.
"Single people don't have someone there caring for them and suggesting their lifestyle needs changing," McDonald says.
And then there's the power of two incomes.
"There's probably an economic advantage, married people are probably better off in economic terms, there's a strong association between economic well being and expectation of life as well – those who are well off live longer."
So if you're single and you want to live a long and healthy life, if the stats are anything to go by, you might want to consider adding 'find partner for life' to your next New Year's resolution list.
Peter McDonald is Professor of Demography and Director of the Australian Demographic and Social Research Institute. He was interviewed by Claudine Ryan.
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Comments (32)
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Cynic :
09 Sep 2008 1:24:42pm
As the old adage goes, married people don't really live longer, it just seems that way.
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Frangipani :
08 Sep 2008 12:49:16pm
Why do I hear this over and over again? Yes for some it may prolong their lives, but let's be honest most people have a great fear of being alone. And our society is skewed towards coupledom, so that economically it pays to pair up. If you like one another great, but an unhappy relationship is catastrophic. My observations are that it takes all kinds of lives to understand contentment. And that living singly is a skill to be nurtured, not despised.
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SJ :
08 Sep 2008 12:23:41pm
Attention 'Me': If results are given with respect to a population then it's not a statistic...it's a parameter. There's a key conceptual difference here. Sample statistics are indicators. Population 'parameters' are absolute by nature. Your contribution to the discussion is flippant and poorly reasoned. And yes, experiments of this nature cannot account for the effects of all contributing factors. Nonetheless, correlations provide excellent stimulus for discussion, reflection and, potentially, change. Researchers should be commended, in the least, for these contributions to society.
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ME :
08 Sep 2008 11:21:51am
Statistics, what a crock. Here's a statistic for ya,
100% of people who live, will die.
Study sample - 100% of people who have ever lived
Outcome - 100% affirmative
Therefore, living is bad for you, avoid it at all costs.-
DavidB :
08 Sep 2008 11:45:47am
Isn't the point that its the quality of life we lead that makes the difference...not whether we are going to die?
If (in the future) people replace their worn out parts (hearts, lungs, livers, kidneys, blood etc)...there's the potential for people to live a lot longer ... depending upon how much you're willing to pay.
Of course you may argue that this isn't exactly the quality of life some had in mind...but that depends upon what keeps you going - what keeps that will to live going.
If its a partner...so be it...I know of someone what dies very shortly after their partner died. Both in their 802/90s...but with one gone...the other looses that will to keep going.
Maybe without a partner, there isn't anything else worth living for (as you get older). After all we emotional creatures ... possessions aren't always good substitutes for satisfying our emotional needs.
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Darryl :
08 Sep 2008 11:02:10am
These kinds of studies are of interest mostly for the questions and the discussions they raise. For in fact the study is in no way a causal study. I think the study does not show that married peopled live longer it shows that people who on average live longer happen to be married. This is a very long way from being certain that marriage somehow, or any how, causes or even contributes to this longevity. Is marriage good for you? I'm really not sure this kind of study has anything really to say about the question, if you have a properly sceptical and enquiring mind.
Personal anecdotes aside the science just does not give the evidence. If anyone really is interested, or cares, then they should set out to test the possible factors in a marriage which people speculate may contribute to an increase in longevity. And that is really a very tall order. Is it, for example, the glass of wine in the evening which contributes to longevity or is it having said wine with a mate. Is it the kind of wine or the level of shared interests or indeed the extent to which the couple pursue separate interests as well as shared interests. What about same sex partnerships? What about interdependent relationships? The possibilities are endless. -
karen :
08 Sep 2008 10:44:06am
Like all statistical reports, this one reports on averages. So, there are some (probably many) people who are happily single who will also live long and happy lives and conversely marrieds who die too young. All this report can tell us is that on average married people live longer. The final statement, albeit tongue in cheek, that getting hitched is plain silly from a statistical view point.
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bamski :
08 Sep 2008 5:50:17am
Most people pair off at some point... but most of those pairings don't work! There would be certain characteristics that make people more likely to sustain a relationship to and through marriage (eg health, emotional stability, communication skills). I think there is definitely an element of the people who are going to live longer anyway ending up in marriages.
And maybe it's not so much that marriage is good for you, but that heartbreak, disillusionment and loss are bad for you? -
Woody :
06 Sep 2008 10:24:41pm
Maybe married people don't have longer lives than single people - perhaps it just feels like that!
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June Halls :
05 Sep 2008 9:41:52am
Yes, I agree with the report.
We have been married for over 60 years, and happy with it.
We care for each other "in sickness and in health," and support each other in all of our (separate) activities.-
Len :
07 Sep 2008 5:39:31pm
This may be the point - is it the quality of the relationship which counts?
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Carol :
16 Sep 2008 4:50:39pm
Len
I certainly reckon the quality of the relationship counts.. After 2 previous negative results in relationships, which has taken me heaps to recover from, single life was lookin really inviting.
However, after 50 years I am now incredibly fortunate to be finally united with the love of my life and life long friend. Guess he was frightened of commitment in our 20's <grin>. We are both now happier and healthier than either of us have been for many years.. Quality of relationship certainly counts!.... Note that all relationships take 2 to keep the love alive and well.. (>_<) (*_*) (^.^) (=_=)
Learn. Love. Play. Respect.
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almostvoid :
05 Sep 2008 1:16:20am
there's something missing in the data about longer life when coupled. Singles are into the nightlife, clubs, pubs, venues, and the life style that goes with it. Couples end up myopic, insulated, self-enclosed. Generalizing here, but have a look at who goes out. Most middle agers are single, where the couples go is...a mystery. They might have a healthier life but so what? Watching TV? or the family carousel? I can't handle that claustrophobia, coupled for ever is a living death, entropy to the brain as well. Still some don't want a social life. C'est la vie!
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Phineus :
05 Sep 2008 12:31:20am
Isn't stats / demography wonderful! We don't get the individual behaviour we get the aggregated behaviour of millions of individuals. It gives us a background on which to pitch our personal experience - for better or worse! More married women being suddenly healthier would be interesting to understand better.
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rks :
04 Sep 2008 8:29:36pm
Healthier people are more likely to get married. The majority of "correlation, therefore: earlier thing must influence later thing" stories are really because some other thing influences both. Journalists probably know this but hate to spoil a good story.
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M kings :
04 Sep 2008 8:27:46pm
Ive been married three times. I guess I must me the common denominator.My life now as a defacto is just as unrewarding.I feel that single life would help me live longer and cheaper.A Musicians life is difficult to share with the un initionated. Love of family and friends are more important than romantic ties. It hurts more when some one you romantically loves lets you down.It can make you Ill!
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Juniper :
04 Sep 2008 7:12:15pm
I was single for 17 years after my husband died. They were very lonely years, even though I was busy with work and other activities. I met my partner when we were both 45 and have been together for 13 years. I have never been happier. We have multiple shared interests and our relationship is based on cooperation, support, encouragement and companionship.
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Graeme Harrison :
11 Sep 2008 8:48:31am
I think the 'quality' of the relationship is the far better determining factor. Some of the things Juniper talks of make a relationship rewarding... whereas we've all seen relationships where the participants are locked in a mutually-self-destructive spiral, who would be better apart than together.
Undoubtedly, having a happy relationship with a supportive spouse helps you live longer. But by measuring only if you are in a relationship is a poor pseudo-variable for the likely causative factor. A doctor in the US has come out with results to show that much of the last 20 years of research linking BMI to longevity is rubbish, in that 80%+ of that relationship is actually explained by whether the person is 'fit', irrespective of body weight. You can be overweight but relatively fit. So he claimed it was a mistake for researchers to have latched onto the more easily observed/available independent variable (BMI) when it was a far worse predictor than the suspected real variable. For 20 years we could have explained that people should be exercising (even if they are not getting lighter), rather than trying pills/potents etc to lose weight for its own sake, and then getting depressed when they didn't succeed.
Graeme Harrison (prof at-symbol post.harvard.edu)-
ABC (Moderator):
11 Sep 2008 9:25:52am
For more on the importance of fitness (rather than fatness), see the Catalyst story Fat and fit and our feature article, The great weight debate.
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Joyce Parkes :
04 Sep 2008 6:19:20pm
Seeing that there are usually at least two exceptions to any one statement/rule, I have to say that since my divorce in 1973 I have never felt more contented and happy.
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Ronk :
04 Sep 2008 6:07:49pm
Pieter does NOT have a point, his comment is really silly. Obviously the study considered deaths from ANY cause incvluding murder. Does Pieter know of some huge number of spousal murders which the government is unaware of? What rot. In fact I'm sure you'll find that among all causes of death, murder has one of the biggest, if not THE biggest, differences in rates between singles and marrieds, i.e. it is much more common in singles.
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Anne :
04 Sep 2008 6:17:43pm
The trouble with Pieter's point is that he goes too far, so people don't take him seriously.
Having spent 20 years in an emotionally destructive marriage, I can say that my mental and emotional health is so much better being out of that relationaship.
Sure, I'm single, don't seem to have prospects of being otherwise, and yes, it's lonely at times, in fact quite often. But it's better than the alternative.
I think the study should examine the quality of the marriages, and reasons for being single.
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Faye :
04 Sep 2008 5:52:47pm
It's that glass of wine with a mate and then the evening meal shared. I couldn't imagine a life lived without it.
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Vicki :
04 Sep 2008 5:15:17pm
Or maybe married people take less risks in their life because they have to consider someone else than just themselves? (some probably regret being in such prison where they're not allowed to live life to the fullest)
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keith :
04 Sep 2008 5:11:07pm
Pieter has a point here, it depends on the quality of the aged relationship. At 70, I've been alone for 9 years, keep fit and healthy, but find it difficult to find a partner with the same intelligence levels and interests, which is why the advice here could be extrapolated to a further study of why senior men and women don't find it particularly inviting to share the latter part of their life in unforseen incompatability. We get choosy in later life, both men and women I should think, based on the experience of our lives. This of course disadvantages men rather than women, who are skilled at networking with other women, friends and family, whereas men living alone generally assume a degree of independence, resulting in their falling down earlier. And oh Pieter, it's rather difficult for a couple to kill each other.
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Daffodil :
04 Sep 2008 4:55:58pm
Everything that people do is far more pleasurable if you have someone to share it with. Going to Paris is insanely joyous with a husband or wife. There is a symetry to life as a twosome if you are with the right person. It's great.
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Michelle :
04 Sep 2008 4:51:59pm
Yes, reading this I must ask the same question as Pieter, think I am so much happier being single and I manage to look after myself better than I would if I had to cook etc for someone else, thats all too hard basket, think you need to clarify your information
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Pieter :
04 Sep 2008 4:26:09pm
What about all the troubled marriages in which the couple kill each other. They are obviously not included in the study. It may be that the survivors live longer but many die young that we don't count. Hmmm???
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Navigator :
05 Sep 2008 6:37:24pm
Not every troubled marriages led to homicide, however, preconceptions about family values, childhood experiences, upbringing and background not to mention genetic mental emotional predisposition all play roles within the web of coupledom. Couple intertwine together both in reasons only they themselves consciously or subconciously know. My parents, stepparents, stepbrothers/sisters, half of this and half of that are so complex! It is like the Whitehouse run by different political factions. Liberal, labour, atheist, religous characters all share the same genes but there is no possibility of homicide ever happening... but if I am lucky, I believe in relationship whether de facto or marriage but like to be independent as well (you know the cake and the icing)because I am a better partner, and more interesting but its been difficult and have not been lucky! and No I am not looking for luck! I am not single by choice nor do I wish to pursue marriage or partnership for its sake but I do believe couple who makes it happen are richer in many many ways. Being single or partnered is not DNA determined.
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