A person’s marital status may be linked to their risk of developing cancer, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Published in Cancer Research Communications, the study analyzed more than 4 million cancer cases across 12 states, covering a population of over 100 million people, between 2015 and 2022. Researchers focused on adults aged 30 and older and compared cancer rates between two groups: those who were married or had been married, including divorced and widowed, and those who had never married.
The findings revealed that people who had never been married faced significantly higher rates of cancer compared to those who were or had previously been married. The elevated risk was seen across nearly all major cancer types and was especially pronounced for cancers linked to preventable risk factors such as smoking, alcohol use, infections and reproductive health.
Men who had never married were about 70 percent more likely to be diagnosed with cancer than married men, while women who had never married faced an even higher increase – about 85 percent higher risk compared to their married counterparts.
In some specific cancers, never-married men had about five times the rate of anal cancer, and never-married women had nearly triple the rate of cervical cancer. Both cancers are strongly associated with HPV infection and are influenced by screening and prevention.
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Researchers also noticed differences when looking at both race and marital status together. Never-married Black men had the highest overall cancer rates of any group in the study. At the same time, married Black men had lower cancer rates than married white men, suggesting that marriage was linked to particularly strong health benefits in that group.
The study also found that the association between marital status and cancer risk was stronger in adults over 50, suggesting that long-term exposure to lifestyle and healthcare differences may compound over time.
Married people are more likely to go in for regular checkups, get diagnosed earlier when something is wrong, and stick with their treatment plans, researchers said. They also often have more financial stability and stronger social support, which can make it easier to maintain healthier habits and seek medical care sooner.
Marriage rates in the U.S. have dropped significantly over the past two decades, reflecting wider social and economic changes. But researchers are careful to point out that this doesn’t mean marriage directly prevents cancer or that people need to be married to stay healthy. Instead, they say the differences in health outcomes are more likely linked to factors that often come with marriage rather than marriage itself being the protective factor.
“It means that if you’re not married, you should be paying extra attention to cancer risk factors, getting any screenings you may need and staying up to date on health care,” Dr. Frank Penedo, study author and associate director for population sciences at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, said in a statement. “For prevention efforts, our findings point to the importance of targeting cancer risk awareness and prevention strategies with attention to marital status.”