Skip to main content RSS Info Close Search Facebook Twitter
Location
Category
Providers / Vacancies
Feedback

Marriage increases life expectancy

Married male and female Australians live longer than life long single people, according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics data on age specific death rates in Australia, per thousand, per age group.

These clearly show that married people have lower death rates than non married people in almost all age groups, for both men and women.

Data analysed by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing shows the difference between single and married people starts in the 40s and grows sharply in the 60s.

The real spike appears in the 70-84 group, with the death rate for single people almost double than married men and women.

For men, the difference evens out after age 85, while married women over the age of 80 continue to have a greater survival rate, than single women in the same group.

However, widowed males over 85 have the highest rate of death per 1,000, showing that once their life partner dies, they often follow.  It is 191.6 per thousand, compared to 140.3 per thousand for married men in the same age group.

Overseas studies have provided similar results on marriage and ageing, and the link with longevity has been debated for more than 100 years.

Historically, one main explanation has been put forward.  It is that marriage reduces the risk of an earlier death as a person is less likely to participate in risky behaviour and more likely to nurture or “guardian” each other’s health through promoting good diet and physical care.

 

Share this article

Read next

Subscribe

Subscribe to our Talking Aged Care newsletter to get our latest articles, delivered straight to your inbox
  1. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  2. Who says your age should limit your dreams?
  3. Data from a recently released report highlights a concerning...
  4. With an ageing and growing population, data from the...
  5. Approximately 411,000 Australians are estimated to be living...
  6. How could you benefit from attending university as an older...

Recent articles

  1. What is a lesser known impact of hearing loss for older...
  2. Are there options for older Australians to live in the same...
  3. The new initiative brings older Aussies together to see the...
  4. A collaboration between Dementia Australia and VistaPrint...
  5. How can you look after yourself during the expected heatwaves...
  6. How is an interactive app being used in aged care settings to...
  7. How could the upcoming strengthening of super standards save...
  8. Brother Thomas Oliver Pickett, a Western Australian volunteer,...
  9. Why is an illegal website targeting older Australians?
  10. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  11. How does heart health impact your risk of dementia?
  12. Instead of going to the hospital, could older Australians...
  1. {{ result.posted_at | timeago }}

Sorry, no results were found
Perhaps you misspelled your search query, or need to try using broader search terms.
Please type a topic to search
Some frequently searched topics are "dementia", "elderly" etc
Close