Every summer, thousands and thousands of couples tie the knot. That decision has lasting effects on their health over time.

每逢黄道吉日，无数情侣喜结连理。婚姻对健康具有持久的长期影响。

Researchers have identified a variety of trends that show how getting married changes people.

大量研究表明，结婚会从许多方面改变一个人。

There has historically been an idea that marriage is good for your physical and mental health, perhaps due to the idea that having a supportive partner can make a person healthier.

人们通常认为，婚姻对身体和心理皆有好处，这也许是由于伴侣的支持能够促进健康吧。

But more recent research has revealed that the relationship between marriage, health, and well-being is more complicated, with both benefits and drawbacks.

但近期研究表明，婚姻、健康、幸福之间的关系其实比较复杂，婚姻既有好处、也有坏处。

Evidence suggests that married men and women have a lower risk for certain types of heart disease than their single counterparts, for example, but married people are also more likely to be overweight.

举例而言：证据显示，就某些心脏疾病而言，已婚男女的患病风险低于单身人士，但他们更容易发胖。

Of course, these observed trends don't hold true for everyone. Every marriage is different, depending on the individuals involved, their relationship, their plans, lifestyles, and more – without even counting external factors.

当然，这些只是整体趋势，并非人人如此。每段婚姻情况不同，具体取决于个体情况、婚姻关系、婚姻计划、生活方式等等——这还没算进外界因素呢。

And there's much less research on the effects of marriage on same-sex couples so far.

此外，迄今为止，很少有人探究婚姻对同性夫妇的影响。

But with that in mind, here are some of the ways that marriage tends to affect partners physically and mentally.

让我们记住这两点，然后看看婚姻对身体和心理的整体影响：

• Married people tend to have better overall health than other adults, even after controlling for age, sex, race, education, income, and other factors.
• 整体而言，已婚人士比单身人士更健康——在控制了年龄、性别、种族、教育程度、收入及其它因素后，此结论依然成立。
• But a large study published last year found those health benefits were mostly observable in older married adults. Among younger adults, married people essentially saw no overall health benefit compared to their unmarried peers.
• 不过，一项去年发表的大型研究发现：这些健康益处在老年夫妇身上体现得最明显;就年轻人而言，已婚人士没比单身人士健康。
• One study found that older married LGBT adults reported better quality of life, with partnered and married adults in the study reporting better health than single adults.
• 一项研究发现：相较于单身人士，年长的已婚LGBT人群的生活质量更高，已婚及有伴侣的LGBT人群更健康。
• But married people - especially men - are more likely to be overweight and obese. Both men and women are less likely to get enough exercise after marriage.
• 然而，已婚人士更容易超重和肥胖，尤其是男性。结婚后，男性和女性获得足量锻炼的几率都有所下降。
• Married men are more likely to use preventative healthcare, however, getting physicals and recommended cancer screenings.
• 不过，已婚男性采取预防保健(看医生、做癌症筛查)的几率也更高。
• And married men and women have a lower risk for certain types of heart disease: peripheral artery disease, cerebrovascular disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm, and coronary artery disease. But risk for heart disease may be higher for divorced or widowed individuals.
• 已婚男女患某些心脏疾病的风险较低，包括：外周动脉疾病、脑血管疾病、腹主动脉瘤、冠状动脉疾病。但对离异人士和鳏夫寡妇而言，这类疾病的风险反而更高。
• Married people report better mental health and lower alcohol use, according toa large Canadian public-health survey.
• 加拿大的一项大型公众健康调查发现：已婚人士心理更健康，饮酒量更低。
• One recent study found that in the first year of marriage, men tended to become more conscientious, while women became less neurotic. But that same study found that women became less open and men became less extroverted in that first year.
• 一项近期研究表明：在结婚第一年内，男性的尽责程度会上升，女性的神经质程度会下降;但与此同时，女性的开放程度和男性的外倾程度有所下降。

But these benefits and drawbacks shouldn't be a reason to get married or not. Over time, our understanding of how marriage affects people has changed and become more refined.

不过，益处也好、坏处也罢，它们不应该成为你结婚或不结婚的理由。婚姻究竟如何影响人们?长期以来，我们对这个问题的理解在不断变化、不断修正。

Some researchers think the reason single people's health appears to be better now than it used to when compared to married counterparts is that there's less societal stigma around single lifestyles these days.

比起过去，单身人士相较于已婚人士的健康状况已有所提升。一些研究人员认为，这是由于社会对单身生活的态度越来越包容。

But even if marriage is associated with certain health benefits, that alone isn't enough reason to partner up.

此外，即便婚姻确实能够带来某些健康益处，它也不应该成为你结婚的唯一理由。

Maintaining relationships has been shown to be a key part of lasting wellness, but there are many kinds of intimate partnerships.

维持关系已被证明是持久健康的一个关键部分，但亲密关系不止有这一种模式。