Getting Married Gives Men a Health Kick

No matter how much you bicker after marriage, walking down the aisle is actually good for a man's health.

Scientists in America have discovered a long marriage lowers a man's chances of health problems and is even more effective than giving up smoking.

In the University of Arizona study, they reviewed blood samples from 1715 volunteers, aged 57 to 85, to measure the level of C- reactive protein (CRP), which is produced by the liver in response to inflammation.

CRP has been linked in previous studies to heart disease, depression and even stroke.

From the analysis, the research team found that tying the knot lowers a man's chance of developing serious health problems.

In fact, the union is more effective than giving up smoking when guarding against potentially fatal diseases, researchers said. The study, in the Psychosomatic Medicine journal, found that married men had the lowest CRP levels of any group: an average of 1.16 milligrams per litre of blood, compared with 2.72 for unmarried men.

Professor Tony Cassidy, of Ulster University, said: "This shows how strong the effect of being married and having strong social bonds can be.

"Men don't necessarily get the same kind of support from their friendships and that's why marriage is so important."