Married men live longer - or - does it just feel longer!

We have know this for some time but the latest research from Australia suggests that the difference is getting smaller.A study of about 3,000 elderly men and women since 1988 found married men lived on average 11 months longer than their single counterparts. But marital status for women made no significant difference to longevity. Epidemiologist John McCallum, of the Victoria University in Melbourne, today said scientists were still speculating about the reasons for the difference. "It's the least successful men who are not married and the most successful women who are not married," Professor McCallum said. "One thought is that it's not so much marriage as the fact that it is the fitter people in a biological sense who get married. In other words, people who are hardier and stronger, who are going to survive longer anyway, get married. It could be that there are beneficial effects of having social support and company as well." Prof McCallum said the study had also found that being a non-drinker, a diabetic, a smoker or having high blood pressure reduced life expectancy. "Over the 15 years, men gained about nine months if they had been drinking moderate alcohol and women about five months," he said. The scientists found the benefits of alcohol consumption accumulate with age. "When we looked at the participants after 10 years, men gained eight months and women three months (over non-drinkers)," said Prof McCallum, who addressed the International Healthy Ageing and Longevity Conference in Brisbane. So - more good reasons for drinking!

50+ women are more irritable in marriage than men

A Saga survey of 800 50+ women and men shows that women are for more annoyed with their men than the other way around.

Four in five women admitted they found certain aspects of their husband's behaviour irritating.

Men are more forgiving, with four in ten (40 per cent) finding nothing irritating about their spouse.

In total, only one in five people (22 per cent) said that nothing irritates them about their spouse.

The survey comes in the run-up to Christmas – one of the few times throughout the year when many couples spend a significant amount of time at home together.

The biggest frustration for men was their wives always wanting to do things their own way (19 per cent) and their wives making arrangements without consulting them (14 per cent).

The survey looks at the common complaints in marriage for the over-50s.

The top five for women include:

*Being taken for granted (26 per cent)

*Having an untidy partner (24 per cent)

*Their husbands insisting on always doing things their own way (24 per cent)

*Their husbands leaving all the housework to them (17 per cent)

*Their husbands undermining them in front of others (13 per cent)

Helping out with the housework shows the widest difference in attitudes with just two per cent of men admitting this was a cause of friction compared to 17 per cent of women.

Despite these findings, the over 50s couples still enjoy being with each other as more than three quarters (83 per cent) believe that spending time together is the most important aspect of marriage.