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Research has long revealed that the financial and emotional benefits of a healthy marriage can actually make people healthier, especially compared to those who never marry.

But what happens when marriages end? New data collected from nearly 9000 participants between ages 51 and 61 shows that divorce and widowhood have a long-lasting negative impact on health.

The research also indicates that even re-marriage doesn’t restore good health. Dr. Linda Waite of the University of Chicago is co-author of the study Marital Biography and Health at Midlife. She joins us from her home office in Chicago to talk about her findings.

Journal of Health and Social Behavior: Marital Biography and Health at Midlife

The University of Chicago: Divorce Undermines Health in Ways Remarriage Doesn’t Heal

The New York Times: Divorce, It Seems, Can Make You Ill

(Photo by David Goehring via Flickr/Creative Commons)