In the classic marriage vow (誓约), couples promise to stay together in sickness and in health. But a new study finds that the risk of divorce among older couples rises when the wife—not the husband—becomes seriously ill.

       “Married women diagnosed with a serious health condition may find themselves struggling with the impact of their disease while also experiencing the stress of divorce,” said researcher Amelia Karraker.

       Karraker and co-author Kenzie Latham analyzed 20 years of data on 2,717 marriages from a study conducted by Indiana University since 1992. At the time of the first interview, at least one of the partners was over the age of 50.

       The researchers examined how the onset (发生) of four serious physical illnesses affected marriages. They found that, overall, 31% of marriages ended in divorce over the period studied. The incidence of new chronic (慢性的) illness onset increased over time as well, with more husbands than wives developing serious health problems.

       “We found that women are doubly vulnerable to marital break-up in the face of illness,” Karraker said. “They’re more likely to be widowed, and if they’re the ones who become ill, they’re more likely to get divorced.”

       While the study didn’t assess why divorce is more likely when wives but not husbands become seriously ill, Karraker offers a few possible reasons. “Gender norms and social expectations about caregiving may make it more difficult for men to provide care to sick spouses,” Karraker said. “And because of the imbalance in marriage markets, especially in older ages, divorced men have more choices among prospective partners than divorced women.”

       Given the increasing concern about health care costs for the aging population, Karraker believes policymakers should be aware of the relationship between disease and risk of divorce.“

       Offering support services to spouses caring for their other halves may reduce marital stress and prevent divorce at older ages,” she said. “But it’s also important to recognize that the pressure to divorce may be health-related and that sick ex-wives may need additional care and services to prevent worsening health and increased health costs.”

解析：C。根据题干中的also important可定位至文章最后一句。定位句表明，但同样重要的是，要认识到离婚的压力可能与健康有关，患病的前妻可能需要额外的护理和照顾，以防止健康状况恶化和医疗成本增加。C项中的extra care对应原文中的additional care，divorced women对应ex-wives，故正确答案为C。A项利用Reducing marital stress作干扰，但题干问的是卡拉克认为同样重要的（also important）是什么，A项内容在also important的内容之前，故错误。