Sunday, May 16, 2010
Arnold Schwarzenegger, due for a long life thanks to wife Maria Shriver, who is 8 years younger (photo: Chris Hatcher, PR Photos)
Big age differences between husbands and wives are great for men’s longevity, but not for women’s. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research in Rostock, Germany, found women are better off marrying spouses of the same age, because wedding men either younger or older tended to reduce their life expectancy. However, men benefit from taking a younger wife, thanks to the “health selection” theory that researchers previously assumed applied to women as well.
According to a study of two million Danish couples by Sven Drefahl, a man who marries a woman 7-9 years younger than he is has a mortality rate 11% less than a man who marries a woman of the same age. But if a woman marries a man who is 7-9 years younger, her mortality rate increases by 20%.
-David Wallechinsky
The Downside of Marriage for Women: The Greater a Wife’s Age Gap from Her Husband, the Lower Her Life Expectancy (Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research)
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