A new study shows that divorce has a notable negative impact on health, and it is one that remarriage cannot fully reverse.

The study published in the September issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior was conducted by researchers at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University and focused on 8,652 individuals between the ages of 51 and 61. Among them, the healthiest were people who stayed married, followed by those who remarried. People who never married, remarried, or were widowed had the lowest health quality measures.

Divorced and widowed people are 20 percent more likely to suffer from chronic health conditions such as heart disease and cancer than married people, while remarried people are 12 percent more likely to develop the same diseases but are less susceptible to depression than those who never remarried.

The correlation is not direct, but linked to many factors inherent in divorce, including loss of income and child care disputes. All of these factors can cause chronic stress, which could be the true cause of these health issues.

Coping with stress effectively could help stem the detrimental effects of divorce. Some choose this transitional period to take up healthy hobbies such as meditation, exercise or yoga. Herbal supplements such as melatonin, Kava-Kava and St. John’s Wort may also help reduce stress.