Healthy relationshipsGeneral wellnessMental health

Is a committed relationship good for your health?

Marriage can benefit your well-being, but it may depend on the quality of the partnership.


LearnRelationship healthIs a committed relationship good for your health?
It could help reduce your risk of heart disease
It might help lower your Dementia risk
It may improve your mental health
Relationships are linked to weight gain for some

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Does having a better half lead to better health? It’s true that sharing your life with someone can do wonderful things for your mental and physical well-being. But those benefits often depend on whether your marriage is a happy one.

“Being married isn’t going to guarantee a stress-free life and excellent health,” says Taly Drimer-Kagan, MD, a psychiatrist in Madison, Tennessee. “What matters here is the quality of the relationship, regardless of whether somebody is married or not.”

With that in mind, here are some ways a committed relationship can affect the health of your heart, your brain, and more.

Sources: Zhu C, Tran PM, Leifheit EC, Spatz ES, e... + 17
  1. Zhu C, Tran PM, Leifheit EC, Spatz ES, et al. Association of marital/partner status and patient-reported outcomes following myocardial infarction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Eur Heart J Open. 2023 Feb 28;3(2):oead018.
  2. Dupre ME, Nelson A. Marital history and survival after a heart attack. Soc Sci Med. 2016 Dec;170:114-123. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.10.013.
  3. Azizi B, Soltani D, Arero AG, Karimi AS, et al. Marital Quality-A Neglected Player in the Prevention of Cardiovascular Diseases: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2024 Aug;26(8):821-831.
  4. Wong CW, Kwok CS, Narain A, Gulati M, et al. Marital status and risk of cardiovascular diseases: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Heart. 2018 Dec;104(23):1937-1948. doi: 10.1136/heartjnl-2018-313005. Epub 2018 Jun 19. Erratum in: Heart. 2019 Jul;105(14):e5.
  5. Wang Y, Jiao Y, Nie J, O'Neil A, et al. Sex differences in the association between marital status and the risk of cardiovascular, cancer, and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 7,881,040 individuals. Glob Health Res Policy. 2020 Feb 28;5:4.
  6. Dhindsa DS, Khambhati J, Schultz WM, Tahhan AS, et al. Marital status and outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease. Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2020 May;30(4):215-220.
  7. Manfredini R, De Giorgi A, Tiseo R, Boari B, et al. Marital Status, Cardiovascular Diseases, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Review of the Evidence. J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2017 Jun;26(6):624-632.
  8. Kewcharoen J, Thangjui S, Kanitsoraphan C, Techorueangwiwat C, et al. The effects of marital status on outcome of heart failure population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Acta Cardiol. 2021 Feb;76(1):11-19.
  9. Zhu C, Dreyer RP, Li F, Spatz ES, Caraballo-Cordovez C, et al. Impact of Marital Stress on 1-Year Health Outcomes Among Young Adults With Acute Myocardial Infarction. J Am Heart Assoc. 2023 Sep 5;12(17):e030031.
  10. Sommerlad A, Ruegger J, Singh-Manoux A, Lewis G, et al. Marriage and risk of dementia: systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2018 Mar;89(3):231-238.
  11. Skirbekk V, Bowen CE, Håberg A, Jugessur A, et al. Marital Histories and Associations With Later-Life Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment Risk in the HUNT4 70+ Study in Norway. J Aging Health. 2023 Aug;35(7-8):543-555.
  12. Chen ZC, Wu H, Wang XD, Zeng Y, et al. Association between marital status and cognitive impairment based on a cross-sectional study in China. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2022 Jan;37(1).
  13. Alzheimer’s Society. Smoking and the risk of dementia. August 2024.
  14. Mental Health Foundation. Relationships and community: statistics. Accessed March 13, 2025.
  15. O'Neal CW, Wickrama KKAS. The Contribution of Stressful Marital Interactions to Loneliness and Health across Mid-life and Later Adulthood. J Fam Issues. 2021 Mar 1;42(3):553-570.
  16. Lee J, Shin A, Cho S, Choi JY, et al. Marital status and the prevalence of obesity in a Korean population. Obes Res Clin Pract. 2020 May-Jun;14(3):217-224.
  17. Nikolic Turnic T, Jakovljevic V, Strizhkova Z, Polukhin N, et al. The Association between Marital Status and Obesity: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Diseases. 2024 Jul 5;12(7):146.
  18. Tang, F., Pan, Y. & Deng, H. Effect of marriage on overweight and obesity: evidence from China. BMC Public Health 24, 3591 (2024).
Written by Ediva Zanker.
Medically reviewed by Mark Arredondo, MD.March, 2025
Updated onAugust, 2026
Written by Ediva Zanker.
Medically reviewed by Mark Arredondo, MD.March, 2025
Updated onAugust, 2026
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