by Andre Mitchell
This article was first published at Christianity Today on April 23, 2016.
A study conducted by researchers from Fremont’s Cancer Prevention Institute of California and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine
shows that married people are more likely to survive cancer than single individuals.
Based on an analysis of 783,167 cancer patients, the researchers concluded that unmarried men are 27 percent more likely not to survive cancer compared
to their married counterparts.
Similarly, single women were found to be 19 percent more likely to succumb to complications of cancer compared to married ones.
Factoring in socio-economic differences, the researchers arrived at the same findings: unmarried men were found to be 22 percent more likely to succumb
to cancer, and unmarried women 15 percent more likely to die.
The findings of their study, entitled “Effects of marital status and economic resources on survival after cancer,” were recently published in the Journal
of the American Cancer Society.
Dr. Scarlett Lin Gomez, co-lead researcher, said their study also explored why married people are less vulnerable to cancer deaths, and the answer was
simple: emotional support provided by their husbands or wives.
“While other studies have found similar protective effects associated with being married, ours is the first in a large population-based setting to assess
the extent to which economic resources explain these protective effects. Our study provides evidence for social support as a key driver,” Dr. Gomez
said, as quoted by LifeSite News.
Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse, founder and president of the Ruth Institute for Family Studies, said the study “adds to the growing body of research showing
that marriage improves the health and well-being of men and women alike.”
She said the study shows that “both men and women benefit from marriage” even though the “benefits of marriage are greater for men than for women.”
She described the study’s findings as “astonishingly strong.”
“Married families should appreciate the fact that the more love and concern and practical support they provide one another, the better their loved-ones
chances of survival become,” Dr. Morse told LifeSite News.