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A happy marriage lowers blood pressure

Happily married couples have lower blood pressure than single people, according to a new US study. However, if the marriage is unhappy it raises blood pressure above those who remain single.

The marriage study

The study included 204 married people and 99 single men and women. Participants were of an average age of 31. Most of the singles had never been married and none were living with a partner. The average length of marriage in the married group was 8 years.

The group wore a 24 hour blood pressure monitor and rated their marital/single happiness in a survey.

Happily married people had the lowest blood pressure. Singles were second and the unhappily married had the highest blood pressure of all three groups.

Researchers conclusions

Professor Julianne Holt-Lunstad, the lead researcher from Brigham Young University told Reuters, "There seem to be some unique health benefits from marriage. It's not just being married that benefits health - what's really the most protective of health is having a happy marriage."

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