FLASHNEWS N. 6		APRIL 2008
		The best remedy? A happy marriage! Happily married couples have a lower blood pressure compared to singles
		Getting married? That is literally “a matter of the heart”. A survey carried out by Prof. Julianne Holt-Lunstad of Brigham Young University in Rexburg (USA) shows that happily married couples have a lower blood pressure compared to singles, even those who enjoy the protection of a supportive social network. More specifically, over a 24-hour period, the blood pressure of happily married men and women was found to be lower by as much as 4 points than that of unmarried adults. Which means that a happy marriage is an excellent remedy for couples. Go Back to the Table of Contents
		A slight decrease in weddings in Italy, foreign markets on the increase According to Istat estimates, 242,000 couples got married in 2007
		The trend recorded in the past few years has been confirmed. Weddings are declining slightly in Italy, but the market is growing significantly, especially in its foreign, medium-high end. According to the main demographic indicators released by the Italian Statistics Institute (Istat), 242,000 couples got married in Italy in 2007 (4.1 per thousand), versus 270,000 five years before (4.6 per thousand). Geographical differences are quite significant. The number of weddings is higher in Southern Italy than in the rest of the country. Religious weddings are holding up: 79% of all couples get married in church. Campania is the region of Italy with the highest number of weddings, whereas Emilia Romagna ranks last. However, this decline is offset by a greater focus on clothes and accessories. Each and every detail is planned with painstaking care, not only in Italy, but abroad, too. In Russia, the East European countries and the Baltic republics, the industry is posting a particularly nice increase and demand is growing steadily. Go Back to the Table of Contents