Marriage has effect on blood pressure, study says

Marriage has effect on blood pressure, study says

NEW YORK — A happy marriage is good for your blood pressure, but a stressed one can be worse than being single, a preliminary study suggests.

That second finding is a surprise because prior studies have shown that married people tend to be healthier than singles, said researcher Julianne Holt-Lunstad.

It would take further study to sort out what the results mean for long-term health, said Holt-Lunstad, an assistant psychology professor at Brigham Young University. Her study was reported online Thursday by the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.

The study involved 204 married people and 99 single adults. Most were white, and it’s not clear whether the same results would apply to other ethnic groups, Holt-Lunstad said.

Study volunteers wore devices that recorded their blood pressure at random times over 24 hours. Married participants also filled out questionnaires about their marriage.

Analysis found that the more marital satisfaction and adjustment spouses reported, the lower their average blood pressure was over the 24 hours and during the daytime.

But spouses who scored low in marital satisfaction had higher average blood pressure than single people did. During the daytime, their average was about five points higher, entering a range that’s considered a warning sign.

Real ID deadline looms

COLUMBIA, S.C. — With a deadline looming for states to seek extensions on complying with stricter driver’s license requirements, South Carolina lawmakers urged the governor Thursday to ask for one so residents won’t be hampered when boarding airplanes or entering federal buildings.

South Carolina, Maine and Montana are the only states that have not sought extensions or moved toward compliance with the Real ID law, which was passed after the 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff has argued that standards need to be raised for obtaining government-issued IDs. Driver’s licenses compliant with Real ID would have several layers of new security features to prevent forgery. They would also be issued after a number of identity checks, including verification of birth certificates.

Other states have balked at implementing the requirements, saying they are costly, impractical and an invasion of privacy. Six, including South Carolina, have passed measures saying they won’t comply, the most extreme stances among more than two dozen states that have complained.

Chertoff has warned that any state that does not seek an extension by the end of March will find that, come May, their residents will not be able to use their licenses to board domestic flights. Federal authorities hope all states will be in compliance with the law in 2011.

Crane inspector arrested

NEW YORK — A city crane inspector faces felony criminal charges after he falsely claimed to have inspected a crane 11 days before it collapsed on the East Side, killing seven people and causing a wide swath of destruction, city officials said Thursday.

Though the city’s top building official asserted it is “highly unlikely” a real inspection before the collapse would have prevented the tragedy, critics said the allegation was indicative of the Building Department’s lax approach to inspections.

Edward J. Marquette, 46, a crane inspector with the city Department of Buildings, was arrested Wednesday night after “things didn’t add up” with an inspection report he filed on the crane, said Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn. Marquette had been sent to inspect the crane in response to a complaint that it had not been properly secured.

Tile patching tested

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Two spacewalking astronauts pulled out a caulk gun and high-tech kind of Silly Putty on Thursday night and tested a method for patching shuttle thermal tiles.

The long-awaited repair test was ordered up following the 2003 Columbia tragedy.

Engineers were curious about whether bubbles would form and rise to the top in the goo as they do on Earth or whether any bubbles would remain inside the material and cause it to swell.

This so-called rising bread-loaf effect could jeopardize a repair and endanger a crew during re-entry.

Various wire services