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Love hurts? So does a wounded marriage
(Reuters)
Updated: 2005-12-06 09:12
There is even more proof that an unhappy marriage is bad for your health,
researchers reported on Monday.
A couple getting
married is seen silhouetted in an undated photo. The stress that comes
from discord appears to slow the initial production of a blood protein
that is key to healing wounds, the report from Ohio State University said.
[Reuters] |
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The stress that comes from discord appears to slow the initial production of
a blood protein that is key to healing wounds, the report from Ohio State
University said.
Quarreling couples studied in a laboratory setting had a slower wound healing
process than when they were not arguing, as measured by how rapidly blisters
healed. The blisters were deliberately inflicted on the test subjects by using a
vacuum pump on the arm.
"Couples who demonstrated consistently higher levels of hostile behaviors ...
healed at 60 percent of the rate of low-hostile couples," said the report
published in the December issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry.
The authors said there is already a sizable body of research showing that
marital disagreement causes adverse health impacts ranging from high blood
pressure and depression to the ability to cope with heart disease and heart
failure.
"Although loss of a spouse can provoke adverse mental and physical health
changes, the simple presence of a spouse is not necessarily protective. A
troubled marriage is itself a prime source of stress," the study said.
The Ohio State study involved 42 married couples, aged 22 to 77. They were
tested twice -- first in a social setting and then again when they were told to
get into disagreements.
The authors said stress appears to slow the local, wound-site production of
proinflammatory cytokines -- protein molecules produced by white blood cells
that play a key role in the early stages of healing.
But the study also found that couples with high degrees of conflict had
higher levels of the same cytokines generally in the bloodstream the morning
after an argument, compared to those who were not in as much disagreement.
While greater early production at wound sites is beneficial, the authors
said, a higher systemic level is harmful.
"Elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines have been linked to a variety
of age-related disease, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis,
arthritis ... certain cancers, and frailty and functional decline," the study
said. "Moreover, inflammatory activation can enhance development of depressive
symptoms."
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