Health studies have consistently shown married people are healthier and live longer. But new research is challenging that notion, suggesting women may not benefit so much.

In fact, the new work by University College London, the London School of Economics, and The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that single women do not suffer the same negative health effects as unmarried men, The Telegraph reports.

Middle-aged women who had never married had virtually the same chance of developing metabolic syndrome – a combination of diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity - as married women.

“Not marrying or cohabiting is less detrimental among woman than men,” said George Ploubidis, M.D., a scientist at the UCL Institute of Education.