The study shows that divorce or death of a spouse can bring about an immediate and long-lasting hurt on one’s mental and physical health.

During the period when divorce is taking place, people are extremely stressful and could ignore their health; once the health has deteriorated, it’s hard to snap back, according to study researcher Linda Waite, sociologist and director of the Center on Aging at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

“Remarriage helps. It puts you back on a healthy trajectory, but it puts you back on a healthy trajectory from a lower point, because you didn’t take care of yourself for a year,” Waite says.

The study analyzed data collected from nearly 9,000 adults ages 51 to 61, among which about 20 percent were remarried and nearly 22 percent had previously been married but hadn’t remarried. Less than 4 percent were never married.

Results showed that those who had been divorced or widowed suffered from 20 percent more chronic health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer, compared with individuals who were currently married.

Health situations like depression often respond quickly and strongly to changes. But conditions such as diabetes and heart disease develop slowly over a long period. That is why health is undermined by divorce or widowhood, even when a person remarries, according to the study. 

On Xinhua Web site: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-07/28/content_11785499.htm