CHICAGO (AFP) - A good fight with your spouse could be good for the health, a new study has found.

Couples who suppressed their anger have a mortality rate twice as high as those in which at least one partner stands up for themselves, according to the study which tracked 192 US couples for 17 years.

"When couples get together, one of their main jobs is reconciliation about conflict," said lead author Ernest Harburg, an emeritus professor with the University of Michigan.

"The key matter is, when the conflict happens, how do you resolve it?" he said.

"When you don't, if you bury your anger, and you brood on it and you resent the other person or the attacker, and you don't try to resolve the problem, then you're in trouble."

Previous studies have shown that suppressing anger increases stress-related illnesses like heart disease and high blood pressure.

This study looks at how suppressed anger and the resulting buildup of resentment in a marriage affects overall mortality rates.

It adjusted for age, smoking, weight, blood pressure, bronchial problems, breathing, and cardiovascular risk.

Harburg and his colleagues used a questionnaire to determine how the spouses responded to behaviour that they perceived as unfair.

Both spouses suppressed their anger in 26 of the couples while at least one spouse expressed their anger in the remaining 166 couples.

At least one death was recorded in half the couples who suppressed their anger, whereas only 26 percent of the other couples suffered from the death of a spouse.

And the anger-supressing couples were nearly five times more likely to both be dead 17 years later, the study found.

Harburg cautioned that the results are still preliminary and do not constitute a representative sample of current marital relationships.

The study period covers couples interviewed in 1971 and measures survival through 1988.

It was carried out in a small, predominantly white and middle class town in Michigan and most of the women were "housewives" born before the sexual revolution.

An upcoming analysis of survival rates 30 years later will yield more reliable results, Harburg said.

nnaahh glad im still single

A good fight usually ends up with cops coming to take someone away. Id rather just agree with her till she calms down,lol

or you could just not piss her off in the first place!

smart answer

Not as much fun, lol

the male is always the guilty party.. riiiight

I think 90% of problems come from lack of communication and therefore misunderstanding. Everyone has different needs and exspectations in marriage. It's sometimes one individual filling the needs of another as they themselves would like it as opposed to filling that other persons SPECIFIC wants and needs and not assume that they are alike. I think this is a critical point where communication is the gateway to loving another person and misunderstanding can be averted.

Good post.

woman r always right. right? lol

i agree with this but hawks and hd got it

very much agree!!

i wanna know, what town in mich.

i guess if i ever get married instead of wedding rings we'll just give each other a set of brass knuckles and instead of "i now pronounce you man and wife " i could pencil in "LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE"..i better pick a small woman i would hate to get my ass kicked on my wedding night...

THAT IS TO FUNNY

get out the boxing gloves and rope off a ring and cops cant do crap,just remember when they do show up to tell them they have to pay 5buck to stay and watch.No freebees here