Why nagged husbands really could meet an early death
MEN who complain that their wife’s nagging will be the death of them may have a point.
Research has found that the burden of a demanding partner is linked to hundreds of male deaths each year.
Men who had constant demands and worries placed on them by their partners were two and a half times more likely to die within 10 years than those with less stressful relationships, the study of almost 10 000 people found.
The effect was so strong that it could account for thousands of deaths a year, the Danish researchers suggested. About 315 extra deaths per 100 000 people per year could be caused by spousal demands and worries, they said.
However, women appeared immune to nagging — as there was little effect on their death rates.
Stress is known to harm health, increasing the risk of heart disease and strokes and encouraging poor habits such as eating junk food and not doing enough exercise.
The researchers said men tended to respond to stress by creating higher levels of the hormone cortisol, which is linked to poor health.
Dr Rikke Lund, the author of the study at the University of Copenhagen, said: “Men also have fewer people in their social network than women, who tend to share their problems and worries with more people.
“Their partner is more important to them in a relatively small social network.”
The study suggested that go-
About 315 extra deaths per 100 000 people a year could be caused by spousal demands and worries
ing to work could provide relief from a stressful relationship because men who were unemployed and frequently nagged were even more likely to die.
The combined effect of frequent demands and worries from a partner and being out of work could account for an extra 462 deaths per 100 000 people per year, it was calculated.
The findings were published in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
Previous studies have found that marriage is good for health. This is one of the first studies to provide an alternative view.
Danish researchers questioned men and women aged between 36 and 52 about their social relationships, asking who made excessive demands, prompted worries or was a source of conflict and how often these situations occurred.
About one in 10 participants said that their partner or children were a frequent or constant source of excess demands and worries.
Similarly, 6% had frequent arguments with their partner or children.
The researchers said that teaching conflict management techniques could help to reduce premature deaths.
Professor Carmine Pariante, a professor of biological psychiatry at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, said that while both sexes sought to resolve conflict, women were better at recognising the “low-level stress” caused by nagging and sought help from family and friends.
“This study shows the assumption that men are more resilient to stress is incorrect,” he said.