General wellnessHealthy relationshipsMental 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.

Jan, 2026
LearnRelationship healthIs a committed relationship good for your health?
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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.

Written byEdiva Zanker.
Medically reviewed byMark Arredondo, MD.March, 2025
Sources: Zhu C + 17
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  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.
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