Divorce can be healthy!

A major UK study conducted in 2015 based on research from three institutions in the UK suggested that divorce presents no discernible long-term health problems.

The Institute of Education (IoE), the London School of Economics (LSE) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine conducted their research by collecting data from more than 15,000 people born in the same week in 1958[1].

Each participant was then asked to detail his or her relationship status at particular ages – 23, 33, 42 and 46 – before having a physical medical examination.

Findings from 2015

The findings were exciting: those who divorced and remarried had similar states of health to those who remained married. Couples who married in their 20s or 30s, and were still together in their 40s, had ’almost identical standards of health’ as cohabitees.

However, the study suggested that completely single people – those who had no partner whatsoever – were most at risk of cardiovascular disease or respiratory problems. So, it seems that living alone can, potentially, have a negative impact on health. If divorcees start a new relationship, however, they may be in a better position to regain or maintain good health.

Comments in 2015

Lead author Dr George Ploubidis said that the academics who conducted the research were a little surprised: "I think the results we found are very interesting. We expected that when you have a lot of transitions in life, you have worse health, but actually transitions such as separation and divorce do not have a long-term effect".

He also agreed with the idea that, while living alone may be detrimental to health, the state of being married is not necessarily important: "For those people who experience separation and divorce, it appears that as long as they begin another relationship, their health does not suffer in the long term".

Recent findings

More recent studies, however, suggest that women may struggle more with their health (especially their mental health) during a divorce or separation after the age of 50[2] compared to men. Further, those without children have been found to adjust more quickly to a post-divorce lifestyle than those who were navigating parenthood as well[3].

A study by the Journal of Men’s Health[4] found that people who are divorced (or widowed) are 20% more likely to suffer from long-term health problems but that people who remarry fare somewhat better.

So, it seems that key factors are relationship quality, gender and parenthood. A divorce – and perhaps the prospect of either a single life or a new relationship – may be healthier than staying stuck in an unhappy relationship; however, it is clear that divorce impacts people differently depending on what stage and age of life you are in.