There are unfortunately many factors that can raise your risk of developing cancer, from your genes to how often you exercise. Not to stress you out or anything, but new research suggests there’s another one to consider: your marital status.
A new study published in the journal Cancer Research Communications found that adults who have never been married have a higher risk of developing cancer than those who have. Weirdly, this isn’t the first study to make this kind of connection.
It’s important to flag that the researchers aren’t suggesting that you’re screwed in the health department if you don’t get married. “The main takeaway is not that people need to get married to prevent cancer,” Paulo Pinheiro, MD, PhD, study co-author and research professor at University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine, tells SELF. But the study found that there are certain factors that are more common in people who are married—and they’re ones that you can still navigate on your own. Here’s what the study found, plus what doctors want people to take away from this.
The study found a clear link between marital status and cancer risk.
For the study, researchers analyzed eight years of demographic and cancer data from surveillance programs across 12 states in the US. The study included more than 4 million cancer cases in a population of more than 100 million people.
The researchers then divided people into two groups based on their marital status: Those who were married or had been married, and those who had never been married. (One in five adults in the study group had never been married.)
After crunching the numbers, the researchers discovered that adults who had never been married had significantly higher rates of developing cancer compared to those who were married or had been married. They also looked at individual cancer types and found marital status was closely linked with some more than others. Case in point: Adult women who had never been married had nearly three times the rate of cervical cancer compared to those who were married or who had been married.
There were slightly different patterns for men and women. Men who were never married were about 70% more likely to develop cancer than those who were hitched, while women who never married were about 85% more likely to develop cancer than their married or previously married counterparts.
“Most research on marriage and cancer has focused on what happens after diagnosis, such as survival. Much less is known about whether marital status is associated with the risk of developing cancer in the first place,” Dr. Pinheiro says.
What’s behind the cancer and marital status connection?
There are likely a few reasons for this link. “Studies have shown unmarried people are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors that increase risk for cancer, such as smoking, alcohol use, and a poorer diet,” Lorna H McNeill, PhD, MPH, professor and chair in the Department of Health Disparities at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, tells SELF.
The study also found an association between cancers linked to infections and sexual activity, Dr. McNeill points out. “It is likely that unmarried people have more sexual partners than married people, also increasing their risk for cancer,” she says. “And finally, unmarried people may experience greater social isolation, and preliminary studies have shown an association between social isolation and increased cancer risk.”
Married people are also more likely to get cancer screenings, Ketan Thanki, MD, colorectal surgeon at the MemorialCare Todd Cancer Institute at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, California, te