Having a Stressed-Out Partner may Lead to Premature Death

Having a stressed-out partner can mean premature death for you, an experiment conducted in birds has concluded.

Researchers studied zebra finches as these birds form similar bonds with their mates and also respond to stress in a similar manner as humans. Around half the birds in the study were given stress hormones for two weeks during infancy. Later on these birds were allowed to grow in stress-free environments.

Thereafter the birds were given mates and their lifespan was monitored. Those birds that received the stress hormones had shorter lifespan as compared to their "laidback" counterparts. The partners of these birds also died early.

"The take-home message is that the wrong kind of partner can be very bad for your health," Prof Pat Monaghan of the University of Glasgow told the Daily Telegraph.

The study details appear in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences



Source: Medindia