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Living as a couple would limit the risk of diabetes, regardless of the quality of the relationship. According to a recent study, living with another person is enough to lower your blood sugar levels.
Do you live with someone? Good news for your blood sugar levels! Indeed, according to Canadian and Luxembourg researchers, living as a couple seems to have lower blood sugar levels and, in fact, a lower risk of diabetes. The results of this observational study are published in the journal BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care.
Does marriage have an effect on blood sugar?
Previous studies believe that marriage and/or cohabitation have health benefits, especially for older people. The researchers therefore set out to investigate whether there was an association between marital status and marriage quality with average blood sugar levels in older people.
The data used for the study included 3,335 adults aged 50 to 89, without previously diagnosed diabetes, over a period from 2004 to 2013.
Regular blood sugar and relationship assessments
Participants were asked to have regular visits from nurses following the main interview and blood samples were taken to measure their HbA1c, an indicator of average blood sugar levels.
Respondents were also asked if they had a husband, wife or partner they lived with and the researchers asked questions designed to measure the level of social tension and social support within the relationship.
A beneficial effect in diabetics or pre-diabetes
Result: people living with a spouse seem to have a higher probability of being healthy in terms of maintaining lower blood sugar, regardless of the harmony of their relationship. Katherine Ford, of Carleton University in Ottawa who led the study, explains: “I guess marriage and cohabitation require a special emotional investment over a long period of time. The importance of this type of relationship likely means that the loss of it may have health implications, such as average blood sugar.”
Analysis of data over time showed that people who experienced marital transitions – divorce, for example – also experienced significant changes in their HbA1c levels and their risk of prediabetes.
The team of researchers concluded:Overall, our results suggest that marital/cohabiting relationships were inversely related to HbA1c levels, regardless of spouse strain. Likewise, these relationships appeared to be protective against HbA1c levels above the pre-diabetes threshold.”