Marrying a Younger Man May Shorten Your Life

Attention Demi: Ashton could be harmful to your health. A recent study suggests marrying a younger man may actually shorten a woman's life. Led by researcher Sven Drefahl, a team in Germany examined the records of two million Dutch couples. They found that a seven- to nine-year age gap between a husband and wife caused a woman's mortality rate to increase by 20 per cent.

But that doesn't mean marrying an older man is any better. Older spouses also seem to shorten a woman's life expectancy. The only women who seemed 'safe' from the statistics were ones who married men of the same age, give or take two years. Ironically, the study found the opposite to be true for men, indicating those who marry younger women actually live longer. The research supports the long-held notion that a younger spouse provides psychological and social benefits for men, and those who select younger partners can do so because they're healthier and predisposed to live longer.

Drefahl isn't sure why there was a huge discrepancy between sexes and mortality rates, but ventured a guess."One of the few possible explanations is that couples with younger husbands violate social norms and thus suffer from social sanctions," said Drefahl. The 'outsiders' stigma associated with these 'cougar' couples may lead to less social support and a more stressful life, increasing the risk of illness and ultimately death. In light of these findings, should women ditch marriage altogether? Not necessarily. The study indicates married people still live longer than single people and that women in general outlive men by two years.

As in all things that relate to both male and female sexes, it isn't fair. It isn't fair that an older husband, younger wife is accepted but an older wife, younger husband is not socially acceptable. Let's change that shall we??