For the most part, science has found that marriage comes with health benefits—lower heart disease risk, longevity (especially for men), lower risk of depression, and better cancer survival rates.
But now come the surprising findings of a new study: that getting married may significantly increase your risk of dementia.
Accounting for age and sex, researchers found that widowed, divorced, and never-married individuals had an approximately 50% or lower risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia, relative to their married counterparts—associations that held for divorced and never-married older adults after controlling for age, sex, race, ethnicity, education, and various underlying health risks. The study appears in the Alzheimer’s & Dementia journal of the Alzheimer’s Association.
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Existing theories about why being in a marriage could lead to better health include that it leads to stronger immune function and lower cortisol (stress) … and that it’s an indicator of having been healthy before the marriage, as some studies suggest people with health issues are less likely to get married.
