Arguing Too Much Increases Premature Death Risk: Study

Individuals who argue and disagree for petty reasons are at risk of dying young, according to a study.

Frequent squabbles and bickerings in family life, personal relations and work not only rob a person's mental peace and happiness, it leaves them feeling irritated and anxious all the time. Danish researchers in their recent study found quarrelsome men and women are two-to-three times likely to die early. They examined nearly 9875 men and women aged between 36 and 52 to note the impact of psychological reactions to stress in work and social life on premature death. The participants were surveyed about their rapport with friends, family, children and co-workers and the reasons that made them unhappy.

The study noted stress induced blood pressure and heart diseases are the risk factors of early death in the participants. It was observed that subjects who regularly dealt with conflicts in personal relations had about 50 to 100 percent likelihood of dying from the above mentioned health conditions.

Nearly 10 percent of the respondents blamed children for causing stress and nine percent said they were aggravated by their partners. About eight percent  eported being pressurized and irritated by demands from social relations. Participants who were unemployed or fired from their jobs faced emotional trauma and stigma and also had very high death risk.

"While we've long known the protective role that healthy social relations play, the results of this study suggest that social relations are actually more like a double-edged sword, as they can also be destructive when unhealthy," said Simon Rego, study author and director of psychology training at Montefiore Medical Center at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, reports the Health Day News.

The findings prove men are particularly vulnerable to breaking under extreme pressure of providing for family and other needs. Hence, that explains why most men succumb to heart diseases and stroke at a young age.

However, the study did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship and the study authors believe other factors like genetics, socio-economic status, environment and psychological reactions are associated with higher risk of death. They urge people to adopt and develop skills to handle and deal with stressful events without getting agitated to reduce the incidence of premature mortality.

"Given these findings, it seems reasonable to conclude that designing and implementing psychological interventions, such as cognitive behavioral therapy, which focus on teaching specific skills like how to manage worries and demands from close social relations, as well as conflict management within couples, families, and even in local communities, all may be important strategies for reducing premature deaths," added Rego, reports the Health Day News.

More information is available online in the journal of Epidemiology and Community Health Center.