An interesting study has revealed that the development of diabetes in men may slow down if they are in a unhappy marriage. "The study challenges the traditional assumption that negative marital quality is detrimental to health," said lead investigator Hui Liu, Associate Professor of Sociology at Michigan State University. "It also encourages family scholars to distinguish different sources and types of marital quality. Sometimes, nagging is caring."
The study may be suggestive about wives' constantly regulating their husband's health behaviours, especially if he is in poor health or diabetic. The team used data from the US National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, and analysed survey results from 1228 married respondents over five years. They investigated the role of marital quality in diabetes risk and management and found two major gender differences.
They found an increase in negative marital quality lowered the risk of developing diabetes and increased the chances of managing the disease after its onset. For women, a good marriage was related to a lower risk of being diabetic five years later.
