A recent study at Iowa State found that when a wife gets a serious illness, such as cancer, heart disease, lung disease or stroke, the marriage has a higher chance of ending in divorce.

Amelia Karraker, lead author for the study and assistant professor of human development and family studies, published the study in the March issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior.

The study suggested that an onset of a serious illness is likely to end in divorce but it did not establish a cause. There has been a lot of speculation as to what the main causes are.

Researchers evaluated more than 2,700 married couples with at least one partner over the age of 50. Although the study looked at many aspects of the married life, its main focus was on the correlation between illness and divorce rates.

Out of the 2,700 couples, more than 30 percent ended in divorce when the wife or husband got sick. When the wife was the one with a serious illness, divorce rates rose a considerable amount. The husband’s illness still ended up in divorce but not nearly as frequent.

“This could in part be to gender socializing of roles within a relationship. In society, women are taught to be caregivers, especially with loved ones,” said Tiffany Iskander, staff psychologist at Student Counseling Services.

Gender roles could affect the divorce rates, which could throw off the marriage in a noticeable way, ending in divorce. Another factor that could put pressure on an existing marriage is if the wife believes she is not receiving the care she needs.

Although this theory was not proven, this could be a main reason why there was such a large difference among divorce rates when illness approaches.

“Significant life events may also exacerbate already existing issues within a relationship,” Iskander said.

Another idea as to why the divorce rates go up significantly after getting a serious illness is the wife or husband realized they were not happy to begin with.

Whatever the reason is for a divorce, it seems the vows, “in sickness and in health” and “till death do us part,” may not apply in this case.