Happily married men less likely to suffer stroke

Jerusalem: Growing old with a loving wife can reduce the risk of death caused by stroke in men, a new study has found. The research carried out for a period of 34 years (1963-1997) showed that unmarried men and unhappy married ones were about 64 per cent more likely to die from stroke than happy married men, Xinhua reported quoting the study.

Professor Uri Goldbourt's working at the Neufeld Cardiac Institute at the Sheba Medical Centre indicates a possible connection between marital "happiness" and the odds of suffering a lethal stroke.

The survey, conducted by the Tel Aviv University, is based on data covering 10,059 Israeli male middle-aged civil servants. It included data from the country's national death registry and other records using "clinical, biochemical, anthropometric, socio-demographic and psychosocial evaluations".

”The results were very consistent with what we're seeing in the United States,” according to Dr Daniel Lackland of the Medical University of South Carolina.

"The benefit of having a partner or somebody is that there can be a support", said Lackland, who was not involved in the study.

He said a spouse's positive impact could include administering medication, making healthy food choices or even getting medical aid quickly in an emergency.