Society: Divorce's Surprising Effect on Longevity

On average, grown children of divorced parents died almost five years earlier than children from intact families.

Individuals who had experienced the dissolution of their parents' marriage were much more likely to later have their own marriages end in divorce -- and this significantly increased their mortality risk. This pattern was particularly harmful for men, probably because of the very important role that women play as confidantes and social supports for their husbands. Indeed, The Longevity Project found that men who re-married after divorce lowered their mortality risk, and the longer they remained in their second marriage the better their prospects became.

For more, see Divorce's Surprising Effect on Longevity by Katie Hafner, April 8, 2011 at The Huffington Post.