Married people die at lower rates — and it doesn't vary by gender

A meta-analysis of 250,000+ people found married people had a mortality relative risk of 0.88 versus the unmarried — a benefit that "did not vary by gender". So "men are healthier single" is the opposite of what the outcome data show.

The number

Pooling more than 250,000 people, married individuals had a mortality relative risk of 0.88 versus the unmarried — they died at lower rates — and the effect "did not vary by gender". ^[1]

the overall relative risk (RR) for married versus non-married individuals … was 0.88 (95% Confidence Interval: 0.85-0.91)

— Manzoli et al., Social Science & Medicine (2007)

^[1]

What it does and doesn't establish

Part of the gap is selection (healthier men are more likely to marry), and divorce carries real financial risk. But on the measurable outcome — how long people live — married men do better, not worse, which is the reverse of "marriage is a bad deal for men". Full context: is marriage a bad deal for men?

Sources

1 source · all archived at publication

[1]Marital status and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis · Social Science & Medicine · 2007-01-01 archived ↗

By The Fieldnote Desk · How we verify · Corrections