Walk down the aisle for lower blood pressure, but be happy!

William Atkins
Friday, 21 March 2008 21:07

Science - Health

The conclusion of the Holt-Lunstad study was “Findings indicate being married per se is not universally beneficial, rather, the satisfaction and support associated with such a relationship is important. However, marriage may be distinctive, as evidence further suggests that support from one's network does not compensate for the effect of being single. These results highlight the complexities in understanding the influence of social relationships on long-term health, and they may help clarify the physiological pathways by which such associations exist.”

Dr. Holt-Lunstad hopes to perform further studies relating blood pressure and quality of marriage, and desire that other researchers contribute to more studies in this area. Since the researchers primarily studied Caucasians in their study, Holt-Lunstad wants to find out if the results also apply to other groups.

In addition, Holt-Lunstad states that few studies have looked into blood pressure and marital quality, rather most studies have concentrated on blood pressure and marital status.

The paper was published online Thursday, March 20, 2008 by the journal Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

Its title was “Is There Something Unique about Marriage? The Relative Impact of Marital Status, Relationship Quality, and Network Social Support on Ambulatory Blood Pressure and Mental Health.”

The other authors in the study were Wendy Birmingham and Brandon Jones, both associated with Brigham Young University at the time of the study.

The original article from the Brigham Young University, appearing March 20, 2008, is titled, “Happily Marrieds Have Lower Blood Pressure Than Social Singles” and appears at ScienceDaily.