By Carol Church, Writer, Family Album
Reviewed by Suzanna Smith, PhD, Department of Family, Youth, and Community Sciences, University of Florida
In fairy tales and romance novels, characters sometimes die of a broken heart after their lovers perish. While this may seem like a dramatic device, many of us recognize that in real life, some people do fail physically after the loss of a long-term partner or spouse. What is really known about this so-called “widowhood effect”? A recent study in the Journal of Public Health followed over 10,000 married, older Americans for about 10 years to learn more.
Researchers focused on older adults who lost a spouse during the course of the study, comparing their survival rates to those of married older adults who had not lost a wife or husband. They did indeed find that those who became widowed were then more likely to die. This was true for both men and women. Adjusting for important factors like age, general health, and wealth reduced the strength of the effect, but a higher risk of death remained.
However, this “widowhood effect” seemed to be mostly limited to the first three months after a spouse’s death. A year after the loss, widowed men remained slightly more likely to die than those still married, but the effect had dissipated for widowed women.
What causes this increase in mortality after a spouse passes on? We know from other studies that marriage is beneficial to health, so in some ways, it only makes sense that the loss of a partner could be harmful. Partners provide each other with emotional support and economic stability, and may watch out for each other’s health in various ways.
If someone you know has lost a spouse or partner recently, make sure to reach out to him or her frequently in the weeks and months following the death. Making the effort to call, visit, or check in, and to ensure that the bereaved partner is eating well and taking good care of his or her physical health, is a vitally important way to show your love and care during this difficult time.
(Photo credit: UF/IFAS file photo.)
References:
Moon, J. R., Glymour, M. M., Vable, A. M., Liu, S. Y., & Subramian, S. V. (2013). Short- and long-term associations between widowhood and mortality in the United States: Longitudinal analyses. Journal of Public Health. Advance online access. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdt101
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