Studies have suggested that married people are healthier than people who are single, divorced or widowed. A new study from Carnegie Mellon University provides the first biological evidence by explaining how marriage affects health. The researchers found that married people had lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol than people who had never married or were previously married. These findings support the belief that unmarried people face more psychological stress than married people. Long-term stress is associated with elevated levels of cortisol which can interfere with the body's ability to regulate inflammation, which promotes the development and progression of many diseases.
