Health Changes Linked to Martial Status of Postmenopausal Women

The surprising health changes noted in postmenopausal women, may include body mass index (BMI), which can worsen if the women marry or improve if they are separated or divorced, finds a recent study.

The research study analyzed data from more than 79,000 postmenopausal women who were participating in the Women's Health Initiative, which is published in Journal of Women's Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert,Inc., publishers.

‘Martial status of postmenopausal women were linked with surprising health changes such as Body Mass Index (BMI).’

The article entitled "Relationship between Marital Transitions, Health Behaviors, and Health Indicators of Postmenopausal Women: Results from the Women's Health Initiative" describes the relationship found between marital transitions and both health indicators (blood pressure, waist circumference, and BMI) and behaviors (diet, alcohol use, physical activity, and smoking). The study was conducted by Randa Kutob and a team of researchers from the College of Medicine, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and Cancer Center of University of Arizona (Tucson); Brown University School of Public Health (Providence, RI); University of California, Davis; University of Texas Health Science Center (San Antonio); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; and University of Iowa College of Public Health (Iowa City).

"These new results are in stark contrast to earlier findings in which marriage has been associated with improved overall health and divorce with higher mortality," says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women's Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women's Health, Richmond, VA, and President of the Academy of Women's Health.



Source: Eurekalert