It seems that encouraging people to get married simply to promote their health may be misguided, in the light of new research that reveals that the health gap between people who never marry and their wedded counterparts is improving.

Since the 1970s, scientists have emphasised that marriage benefits health, especially for men.

Now, researchers say that while the health of married people is still slightly better than that of people who have never been married, the gap has closed considerably.

"Married people are still healthier than unmarried people, but the gap between the married and never-married is closing, especially for men," said researcher Hui Liu, professor of sociology at Michigan State University in the US.

The trend is due almost exclusively to a marked improvement in the health of never-married men, possibly because never-married men now have greater access to social resources and support that historically were found in a spouse.

The health of married women has also improved, while the health of married men remained stable.

In contrast, health for widowed, divorced and separated people worsened from 1972 to 2003, relative to their married peers. This held true for both men and women, although the widening gaps between the married and the previously married groups are more pronounced for women than for men.