Did you know that the state of a woman’s health, including things like cholesterol levels and heart conditions, is directly connected to the state of her marriage?

Data from a variety of sources suggest that women are more vulnerable to suffer the health costs of a rocky marriage than their husbands.

Men don’t seem to be affected in the same way by the ups and downs of a relationship. As a group, men appear to experience a health benefit, just from being married.

The more pleased a woman is with her marriage, the better her health is. In one study, when a woman enjoyed the time she spent with her partner, her medical data told the story. Levels of blood pressure, glucose and bad cholesterol were lower for the satisfied women than for those unhappy in their marriages.

* I pinched all this from Daniel Goleman’s Social Intelligence. An intriguing read.