Marriage → All-cause mortality
Higher marriage decreases all-cause mortality.
In a pooled analysis of studies of older people, married people had a lower relative risk of death than people who were not married (0.88). The non-married group mixed the widowed, the divorced or separated, and the never married.
Meta-analysis · Moderate · N=53
The two move together in observational data. Nobody has yet tested whether one causes the other.
Mechanism
The authors do not name a pathway for this link, so how it might work is not settled.
Caveats
The review looked at older adults, and its non-married group mixed three different situations: widowed, divorced or separated, and never married. The link tracks marital status with death rates. It does not show that marrying lengthens life, since health, income and education can shape who marries and who stays married.
Effect
Risk ratio 0.88 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.91). Relative risk of death 0.88 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.91) for married versus non-married older people.
Nodes
Named confounders
Cite this page
What Causes What. “Marriage → All-cause mortality.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-marriage-mortality (atlas updated 2026-10-18).
Papers
- Marital status and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
L Manzoli, P Villari, G M Pirone, A Boccia · 2007 · Social science & medicine (1982)
elderly individuals · Risk ratio 0.88 (95% CI 0.85 to 0.91)