婚姻與健康

Every summer, thousands and thousands of couples tie the knot. That decision has lasting effects on their health over time.

每逢黃道吉日，無數(shù)情侶喜結(jié)連理?；橐鰧?duì)健康具有持久的長期影響。

Researchers have identified a variety of trends that show how getting married changes people.

大量研究表明，結(jié)婚會(huì)從許多方面改變一個(gè)人。

There has historically been an idea that marriage is good for your physical and mental health, perhaps due to the idea that having a supportive partner can make a person healthier.

人們通常認(rèn)為，婚姻對(duì)身體和心理皆有好處，這也許是由于伴侶的支持能夠促進(jìn)健康吧。

But more recent research has revealed that the relationship between marriage, health, and well-being is more complicated, with both benefits and drawbacks.

但近期研究表明，婚姻、健康、幸福之間的關(guān)系其實(shí)比較復(fù)雜，婚姻既有好處、也有壞處。

Evidence suggests that married men and women have a lower risk for certain types of heart disease than their single counterparts, for example, but married people are also more likely to be overweight.

舉例而言：證據(jù)顯示，就某些心臟疾病而言，已婚男女的患病風(fēng)險(xiǎn)低于單身人士，但他們更容易發(fā)胖。

Of course, these observed trends don't hold true for everyone. Every marriage is different, depending on the individuals involved, their relationship, their plans, lifestyles, and more – without even counting external factors.

當(dāng)然，這些只是整體趨勢，并非人人如此。每段婚姻情況不同，具體取決于個(gè)體情況、婚姻關(guān)系、婚姻計(jì)劃、生活方式等等——這還沒算進(jìn)外界因素呢。

And there's much less research on the effects of marriage on same-sex couples so far.

此外，迄今為止，很少有人探究婚姻對(duì)同性夫婦的影響。

But with that in mind, here are some of the ways that marriage tends to affect partners physically and mentally.

讓我們記住這兩點(diǎn)，然后看看婚姻對(duì)身體和心理的整體影響：

• Married people tend to have better overall health than other adults, even after controlling for age, sex, race, education, income, and other factors.
• 整體而言，已婚人士比單身人士更健康——在控制了年齡、性別、種族、教育程度、收入及其它因素后，此結(jié)論依然成立。
• But a large study published last year found those health benefits were mostly observable in older married adults. Among younger adults, married people essentially saw no overall health benefit compared to their unmarried peers.
• 不過，一項(xiàng)去年發(fā)表的大型研究發(fā)現(xiàn)：這些健康益處在老年夫婦身上體現(xiàn)得最明顯;就年輕人而言，已婚人士沒比單身人士健康。
• One study found that older married LGBT adults reported better quality of life, with partnered and married adults in the study reporting better health than single adults.
• 一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)：相較于單身人士，年長的已婚LGBT人群的生活質(zhì)量更高，已婚及有伴侶的LGBT人群更健康。
• But married people - especially men - are more likely to be overweight and obese. Both men and women are less likely to get enough exercise after marriage.
• 然而，已婚人士更容易超重和肥胖，尤其是男性。結(jié)婚后，男性和女性獲得足量鍛煉的幾率都有所下降。
• Married men are more likely to use preventative healthcare, however, getting physicals and recommended cancer screenings.
• 不過，已婚男性采取預(yù)防保健(看醫(yī)生、做癌癥篩查)的幾率也更高。
• And married men and women have a lower risk for certain types of heart disease: peripheral artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and coronary artery disease. But risk for heart disease may be higher for divorced or widowed individuals.
• 已婚男女患某些心臟疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)較低，包括：外周動(dòng)脈疾病、腦血管疾病、腹主動(dòng)脈瘤、冠狀動(dòng)脈疾病。但對(duì)離異人士和鰥夫寡婦而言，這類疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)反而更高。
• Married people report better mental health and lower alcohol use, according toa large Canadian public-health survey.
• 加拿大的一項(xiàng)大型公眾健康調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)：已婚人士心理更健康，飲酒量更低。
• One recent study found that in the first year of marriage, men tended to become more conscientious, while women became less neurotic. But that same study found that women became less open and men became less extroverted in that first year.
• 一項(xiàng)近期研究表明：在結(jié)婚第一年內(nèi)，男性的盡責(zé)程度會(huì)上升，女性的神經(jīng)質(zhì)程度會(huì)下降;但與此同時(shí)，女性的開放程度和男性的外傾程度有所下降。

But these benefits and drawbacks shouldn't be a reason to get married or not. Over time, our understanding of how marriage affects people has changed and become more refined.

不過，益處也好、壞處也罷，它們不應(yīng)該成為你結(jié)婚或不結(jié)婚的理由?；橐鼍烤谷绾斡绊懭藗?長期以來，我們對(duì)這個(gè)問題的理解在不斷變化、不斷修正。

Some researchers think the reason single people's health appears to be better now than it used to when compared to married counterparts is that there's less societal stigma around single lifestyles these days.

比起過去，單身人士相較于已婚人士的健康狀況已有所提升。一些研究人員認(rèn)為，這是由于社會(huì)對(duì)單身生活的態(tài)度越來越包容。

But even if marriage is associated with certain health benefits, that alone isn't enough reason to partner up.

此外，即便婚姻確實(shí)能夠帶來某些健康益處，它也不應(yīng)該成為你結(jié)婚的唯一理由。

Maintaining relationships has been shown to be a key part of lasting wellness, but there are many kinds of intimate partnerships.

維持關(guān)系已被證明是持久健康的一個(gè)關(guān)鍵部分，但親密關(guān)系不止有這一種模式。