According to a new study, women in strained or bad marriages are more likely than their husbands to suffer from conditions that increase the risk of heart disease. The study also found that both women and men trapped in bad marriages are more likely to feel depressed than their happily-married counterparts.

Researchers at the University of Utah studied nearly 300 couples who had been married an average of 20 years and whose ages ranged from 40 to 70. Each couple filled out a questionnaire that assessed their feelings about their marriage and their mental state, then underwent a battery of medical tests to assess their risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

The results showed that women in bad marriages were more likely to suffer from high blood pressure, obesity around the waistline, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, and low HDL (the good cholesterol) levels – a collection of signs sometime called "metabolic syndrome," – than women in happy marriages. Metabolic syndrome is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, including heart disease and stroke. The researchers found that for women, a bad marriage is roughly the equivalent of living a sedentary lifestyle in terms of raising the risk of metabolic syndrome. Both women and men in tense marriages tended to feel more depressed, though not necessarily to the point of clinical depression.

The researchers believe that depression symptoms caused by the stress of a strained marriage may lead to hormonal changes that create the metabolic syndrome. This may also explain the difference seen between wives and husbands in the study, since men and women have different hormonal profiles. The researchers also note that previous research has found that women are more sensitive to relationship problems than men, and this study suggests that it may be affecting their health.

The study authors point out that while relationship stress may play a role in heart health, lifestyle choices such as diet, activity level, and smoking are an even bigger part. The researchers suggest that dealing with those risk factors should take precedent over relationship changes.

So if a woman is in an unhappy marriage, will leaving her husband improve her health? Not necessarily, say the researchers. Going through a divorce is known to be associated with heart disease, so that might not solve the problem. The scientists are currently studying whether improving the state of a marriage may improve women’s health.

Want to learn more about the risk factors for heart diseases? Read "What are the Risk Factors for Heart Disease?" in the Healia Health Guide to Heart Disease. Find out more about metabolic syndrome in the Healia Health Community on Metabolic Syndrome.

_{Photo: Ed Yourdon, Flickr, Creative Commons}