Women who suffer silently when in conflict with their husbands are at four times the risk of dying than their counterparts who speak out and express their feelings, a study has shown.

At the same time, men whose wives come home upset with work outside the home were at two times the risk of developing heart disease, reported the American Heart Association.

Researchers in the Framingham Offspring Study - a large, ongoing community study - and scientists from Boston University conducted a 10-year study on 1,769 men and 1,913 women between ages 18 and 77. Of these, 1,493 men and 1,501 women were married or living in a marital situation.

The scientists also collected data that analysed marital discord and determined traditional and contemporary measures of disagreements and conflict resolution.

Previous studies have shown a link between levels of marital strain and the health of people with heart disease.

However, few studies have looked into the effects of marital strain on contributing to heart disease or death from any cause, said Elaine D. Eaker, principal investigator of the Framingham Offspring Study.

"Married men were heavier, older, and had higher blood pressure and a less favourable lipid profile compared to unmarried men," Eaker said. "Unmarried men were more likely to be smokers."

The study also found that married men were about half as likely to die compared to unmarried men.

On the other hand, marital status and "the more traditional measures of marital strain" had no effect on women developing heart disease or dying over the 10 years of follow up.

However, when considering the contemporary measures, two types of marital strain were found to be significantly related to the health of married women as well as men.

Women reported usually or always keeping their feelings to themselves when in conflict with their husbands, known as self-silencing, had more than four times the risk of dying from any cause compared to women who always show their feelings.

Men who reported that their wives' work was disruptive to their home life because wives came home upset with work were more than two times likely to develop heart disease.

"These findings are unique. We believe we have found characteristics of marriages that have an impact on people's health and longevity," said Eaker.

Indo Asian news service