Divorce and widowhood hurt health

CHICAGO, July 28 (UPI) -- Divorce and widowhood have a lingering, detrimental impact on health -- even among those who remarry, U.S. researchers found.

Researchers at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University said the study involved 8,652 people ages 51-61.

University of Chicago sociologist Linda Waite said based on genetics and other factors, people enter adulthood with a particular "stock" of health, other research has shown.

"Each person's experience of marital gain and loss affect this stock of health," Waite said in a statement. "For example, the transition to marriage tends to bring an immediate health benefit, in that it improves health behaviors for men and financial well-being for women."

The study, scheduled to be published in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, found divorced or widowed people have 20 percent more chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes or cancer than married people. They also have 23 percent more mobility limitations, such as trouble climbing stairs or walking a block.

People who never married have 12 percent more mobility limitations and 13 percent more depressive symptoms.

However, people who remarried have 12 percent more chronic conditions and 19 percent more mobility limitations, but no more depressive symptoms, than those who are continuously married.