People who are married are healthlier than those who are not (either single, divorced), but the difference between them has narrowed over the past few decades, said a new U.S. research as reported by media Friday.

"One of the most-often documented facts is that married people are healthier than non-married people, but the difference between married and unmarried people has changed over the past few decades," said the study's lead author, Hui Liu, an assistant professor and sociologist at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

To analyze these trends, Liu and her colleague, Debra Umberson, reviewed 32 years of data on more than one million Americans from the National Health Interview Survey. Study participants were between the ages of 25 and 80. Health status was self-reported in the survey.

Liu said there are two theories as to why married people report better health. One is that being married gives you more access to social support and economic resources. The other is that being divorced or widowed hurts health.

"In general, marriage tends to make people healthier, happier and richer, and that's especially true for men," said Scott Wetzler, vice chairman of psychiatry and behavioral science, and head of the "Supporting Healthy Marriage" program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.

The researchers found that the self-reported health status of never-married adults increased significantly over time. At the same time, the self-reported health status of married women also increased, so the gap between married and never-married women's health stayed about the same.

However, interviews with today's single men suggest they are healthier than single guys of 30 years ago. This finding is helping single males make up some ground when compared to married men.

(Xinhua News Agency August 15, 2008)