Marriage is more beneficial to men than women, study finds

Study finds single men suffered more health problems than their married counterparts

Middle-aged women who had never wed had almost same chance of developing a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, known as metabolic syndrome, as their married counterparts (Rex Features)

Women hardly benefit from getting married while men who tie the knot are healthier than their single counterparts, a new study had found.

The research conducted by University College London, the London School of Economics and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found unmarried men suffered more negative health effects than single women.

But middle-aged women who had never wed had almost same chance of developing a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity, known as metabolic syndrome, as their married counterparts.

“Being married appears to be more beneficial for men,” Dr George Ploubidis, a population health scientist at the UCL Institute of Education, told The Telegraph. “Not marrying or cohabiting is less detrimental among woman than men.”

The study which analysed information on more than 10,000 people born in England, Scotland and Wales in the same week of spring 1958, found that although single men showed higher levels of a biomarker signifying a greater risk of breathing problems, than unmarried women.

It also showed that a biomarker for heart problems was raised 14 per cent in unmarried men but was barely noticeable in single women.

Getting divorced was also shown not have a harmful impact on future health for either men or women as long as they found a new long-term partner.

“Numerous studies have found that married people have better health than unmarried people,” said Ploubidis However, our research shows that people who experience separation, divorce and remarriage, have very similar levels of health in middle age to those who are married.”