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New research shows that marriage is good for blood sugar control. Photo: Alamy/PA. |
Previous studies have found happy marriages offer more health benefits than being single, including living longer, fewer heart attacks, less depression and eating healthier.
Now, a new study that has looked specifically at blood sugar in older adults, has found that being married or living together helps them control blood sugar.
At the start of the study, experts from the University of Luxembourg and the University of Ottawa (Canada) examined data from the Longitudinal Aging Study (UK) on 3,335 adults aged 50 to 89 years who did not have cancer. diabetes. The study included data collected from blood samples measuring HbA1c (average blood sugar) levels.
The study examined whether they had a husband, wife or partner living together and asked questions to test the level of stress and mutual support in the relationship. The data showed that 76% of the people in the analysis were married or cohabiting.
The researchers found that the quality of the marital relationship made no difference between blood sugar level medium. Having a good or low-stress relationship is not as important as simply having a husband and wife relationship.
“Overall, the results show that the marital/cohabiting relationship is inversely related to HbA1c levels, regardless of whether the relationship is good or bad. Similarly, these relationships appear to have a protective effect on the body, preventing HbA1c . levels Exceed the pre-diabetes threshold“, the researchers concluded.