I hate piling on. I know the single life has dragged on longer than you hoped it would and you hoped it would end sooner rather than later. But you probably didn’t think it would all end forever, permanently, because you were single That’s the unfortunate news I bring today, as the sensational headlines sure to emerge from a new University of Miami study practically write themselves.
I see it now, “being single causes cancer.”
Sensational, but according to a team of researchers, it’s kind of real.
The team from UM, which published their results in Cancer Research Communicationanalyzed more than 4 million cancer cases in 12 states. They found that adults who have never been married face significantly higher cancer rates compared to people who are or have been married. In men, the cancer rate was 65 percent higher, and in unmarried women, the rate was 85 percent higher.
Being single can be worse for your health than you think
Before you rush to the Vegas drive-through wedding chapel at the first sign of a strange mole, remember that cancer doesn’t care about your relationship status. According to the researchers, it is more about the behavior and conditions that lead to cancer. Marriage comes with a number of benefits, all of which help reduce cancer risk.
Things like routines, emotional and psychological support, and someone who loves and cares enough to nag you to go to the doctor regularly. Because of all that care and accountability, people who are married are more likely to get regular health checkups and follow medical advice while avoiding certain risk factors like smoking. There’s also the idea that healthier people are simply more likely to get married in the first place.
The researchers saw that the rate of cervical cancer in women who had never been married was almost three times higher than those who had been, while the rate of anal cancer and never-married men was about five times higher.
It shouldn’t be at all surprising to learn that unmarried men and women were less likely to get screened for breast or prostate cancer, probably because they don’t have access to it, because they may not have proper health coverage.
The survey is not perfect as it groups all married and previously married people into one large group instead of dividing them into e.g. married people, divorced people, people who were just separated, and so on. So some social context is missing, but it still provides a fascinating conclusion: that having a close companion in life keeps you accountable and, in the best possible way, helps you stave off cancer with the power of their love.
