Do bad relationships increase the risk of heart disease, or is the root of both problems alcoholism?
"Adverse close relationships may increase the risk of heart disease."
So found researchers in a study of 9,011 British civil servants, most of whom were married. Those judged to have the worst relationships were 34% more likely to have serious heart trouble during 12 years of follow-up than those having good relationships with partners, close relatives and friends. The study, reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine, concluded that "the quality of the relationship matters." The study follows several others linking health problems with being single and having few close relationships.
Correlation, however, is not causation. There may be a reason that explains both poor health and a high degree of conflict: levels of alcoholism are higher among unhappily married and divorced ...
