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[Odler]

(An article published by Reuters: 08-15-2002, 19:11:38 -0400, Reuters

Health)

LONDON (Reuters Health) -

Marriage seems to be so good for men's health that married men are

less likely to die in a given period than their single counterparts,

according to British researchers.

Professor Andrew Oswald and Dr. Jonathan Gardner from the department

of economics at Warwick University looked at data on more than 12,000

adults from the British Household Survey and the British Retirement

Survey.

Factoring out influences such as smoking and drinking, married men

were 6.1% less likely to die over a 7-year period than single men,

they found. Women benefited less from marriage, with their death risk

dropping just 2.9%.

Researchers have often found that married men and women are healthier

than their single counterparts, and the Warwick researchers speculate

that a spouse might reduce a man's stress and encourage a healthy

lifestyle.

But that does not seem to be the only factor, they note in their

report, which is published online at

http://www.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/Economics/oswald/.

"Exactly how marriage works its magic remains mysterious," they write

in their report. "Perhaps a strong personal relationship improves

mental health and helps the individual to ward off physical illness.

More research here is certainly needed."

Oswald said the findings debunk the idea that wealthier people live

longer. "Forget cash. It is as clear as day from the data that

marriage, rather than money, is what keeps people alive," he said in

a statement.

......

(Comments:

Carnavaling every year has exactly the same effect.

OdlerRobert