Marriage is linked to optimal health and wellness in men as they grow older

Today, a fascinating new study adds another dimension to the importance of marriage and its potential role in promoting ideal aging, especially in men, over the years. Different models and terminology have been proposed to describe and evaluate the factors and conditions that contribute to living a full life during mid-adulthood and beyond, or "good old age." We often hear two terms, "optimal aging" and "successful aging", but they are not interchangeable: optimal ageing means the ability to work across many domains – physical, functional, cognitive, emotional, social and spiritual – in a way that satisfies one despite their medical conditions. Successful aging means the absence of disease and disability with high cognitive and physical functioning; and active participation in life.

Successful versus optimal aging

The above definition of "successful aging" raises the question: Did a person who had a stroke "fail" in old age, because that person's physical performance could be compromised? People working in the field of aging continue to discuss the terminology to use, it is clear that many middle-aged and older people who may have more than one chronic medical condition can enjoy their lives to the fullest. The Institute for Optimal Aging at Bowling Green State University focuses on helping individuals learn more about the dimensions of wellness—physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual, cultural, and occupational—so they can adapt and adapt better to life's challenges and stressors. If one is able to withstand, they can age perfectly. No association was found between marriage and optimal aging among women – although older women who became widows or divorced fared worse than their peers who never married. A new study that followed more than 7,000 Canadians, middle-aged and older, for about three years found that married men or men who married during the study period had two times more likely to age than their male peers who had never married. Among women, women who had never married were twice as close to optimal aging compared to married men who became widowed or divorced during the study period.

But married women have never differed significantly from unmarried women in terms of optimal aging. Little is known about the relationship between marital paths in old age and successful old age. Author Maple Ho, a recent PhD graduate at the University of Toronto's Factor-Innuentas School of Social Work, says: "Our goal was to see if different marital pathways are related to physical health and well-being, and whether these relationships differ between men and women." Researchers defined optimal aging as freedom from any serious physical, cognitive, mental, or emotional conditions that prevent daily activities, as well as high levels of self-reported happiness, good physical health, and mental health. The sample for the current study was limited to 40% of participants who were considered successfully older at the beginning of the study. David Burns, professor and head of Canada research at the Factor-Innunather School of Social Work at the University of Toronto, said: "Previous studies have shown that marriage is associated with better health outcomes for both men and women, while men who have never married generally had the worst health outcomes. "It may be because married couples encourage each other to adopt or maintain positive healthy behaviors such as quitting smoking or exercising regularly.

Maintaining optimal health in old age

Older adults who were not socially isolated were more likely to maintain optimal health in old age. Those who had regular contact with relatives, friends and neighbors were more likely to be aging closer to the ideal shape than socially isolated older people. Eleanor Bolinigum, a senior scientist at Children's Hospital and a professor at the University of Toronto, says, "Socializing with others is important, especially later in life. Regular contact with relatives, friends and older neighbors can help them feel connected, reduce their loneliness, and improve their overall well-being." The study also found that lifestyle factors such as maintaining a healthy body weight, physical activity, not having insomnia and not smoking were important in maintaining optimal health later in life. "Lead author Esmi Fuller Thompson, director of the Life-Ageing Institute, says it's very important to maintain a healthy pattern and no matter how old we are, it's never too late to quit smoking." "In our study, former smokers were more likely to age ideally than those who continued to smoke." "Our study underscores the importance of understanding gender differences in aging so that we can better support older men and women to continue to thrive later in life," she concluded. "Our results can help develop programs and services to engage and support older people, especially those who have never married or experienced widowhood, separation and divorce later in life.