Married people have lower levels of stress hormone compared to those who have either never been married before or who are no longer married, according to a new study by Carnegie Mellon University.
“There is a lower level of stress hormone among married people which in turn may reduce the development and progression of many diseases,” the study says, according to Medi India.
“It’s exciting to discover a physiological pathway that may explain how relationships influence health and disease,” said Ph. D. student Brian Chin, who’s currently studying at the Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences, according to Science Daily.
In conducting this study, which was published in the journal Psychoneuroendocrinology, scientists tested 572 saliva samples from adults between the ages of 21 and 55, all of whom were said to be in good health.
After the samples had been tested for three days, results showed that the married adults in the study had lower cortisol levels than those who were either single or widowed.
According to the United Press International, if an individual has high cortisol levels, then it means that person is experiencing long-term stress.
Such a level of stress has a negative impact on body inflammation.
“These data provide important insight into the way in which our intimate social relationships can get under the skin to influence our health,” said Sheldon Cohen, the co-author of the study, according to Science Daily.
According to Medi India, this new study has provided scientists with their first piece of “biological evidence,” linking a person’s health status with marriage.