Having an attentive partner can significantly improve your health and life expectancy, according to a new study.

Researchers have found that people in long-term relationships who believe their partner cares and appreciates them tend to have a lower risk of mortality.

The study, led by the University of Edinburgh, found that when participants felt their partners had become less caring over a ten year period, they had a poorer response to everyday stress.

This then led to a higher risk of death in the subsequent ten years.

Lead researcher Dr Sarah Stanton, of the University of Edinburgh’s School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, said: “These findings are among the first to investigate how long-term changes are an important marker of relationship quality and can predict mortality risk.

“The results suggest that if people have someone they can turn to – and whom they think supports them – then it can help them deal with the stresses of everyday living.

“This also has downstream associations with later health outcomes.”

The research found that people who reported a significant drop in their partner’s attentiveness during the first ten years of the study had a 42 per cent higher risk of death in the following ten years.

This was linked to them experiencing a stronger reaction to stress.