Mortality after bereavement: a prospective study of 95,647 widowed persons.

Abstract

The mortality of 95,647 persons, widowed during 1972-76 and identified by linking the Finnish Population Register and cause-of-death files, was followed up to the end of 1976. A total of 7,635 deaths during 225,251 person-years of experience were observed. Cause-specific standardized mortality ratios by time after bereavement were computed. The highest relative mortality risk was found immediately after bereavement. For all natural causes, mortality during the first week was over two-fold compared to expected rates. The relative risk was larger for ischemic heart disease (RR = 2.3 for men, and RR = 3.5 for women), an effect found in all age

Widowhood and divorce in relation to overall survival among middle-aged Norwegian women with cancer

“…The question has also been raised that the time interval between life change event (divorce or widowhood) and the diagnosis of cancer may be related to survival (Kaprio et al, 1987). We explored this question, but found no evidence of any time-related pattern regarding time since the event and survival from cancer.…”

“…Lower mortality has been reported for married persons (Kraus and Lilienfeld, 1959;Joseph and Syme, 1982), but this may be particularly true for men (Young et al, 1963, Rees andLutkins, 1967;Parkes et al, 1969;Ward, 1976;Jacobs and Ostfeld, 1977;Bowling, 1987), and for age groups younger than 60 years (Jacobs and Ostfeld, 1977;Seeman et al, 1987). In most studies, however, there has been no clear association between marital status and survival among cancer patients (Jacobs and Ostfeld, 1977;Koskenvuo et al, 1979, Mellstr0m et al, 1982Jones and Goldblatt, 1986;Kaprio et al, 1987). Nonetheless, a link has been proposed between stress due to life change events such as widowhood or divorce and susceptibility and prognosis of cancer through immunosuppressive and neuroendocrine pathways (Marx, 1985;Hilakivi-Clarke et al, 1993).…”

Clinical and research measures of grief: A reconsideration

“…Research indicates that grief is often followed by somatic illness. 6,7 Some instruments were developed to measure symptomatic clusters related to depressive illness and medical morbidity, pointing to maladaptive signs. It is surprising, however, that few grief measures from clinical research are available to predict the onset of psychiatric and somatic disorders of the bereaved.…”

“…An extensive body of literature on bereavement and bereavement counseling has been produced in the last four decades in Western countries. For example, there is ample evidence to indicate the negative effects of bereavement on psychiatric and physical morbidity, 1 and an increased risk and severity of depressive symptoms, [2][3][4] anxiety, 5 poor physical health, 6,7 immunological dysfunction, 8,9 increased adrenocortical activity, 10 and increased mortality. 11 Since the early works of Freud 12 and Lindemann, 13 a considerable number of conceptual and empirical studies on grief have been performed.…”

A mechanism converting psychosocial stress into mononuclear cell activation

“…T he cardiovascular system is a target of psychosocial stress associated with exercise-induced myocardial ischemia, increases in blood pressure, heart rate, and arrythmias, development of arteriosclerosis, and death (1)(2)(3)(4). Potential toxic elements in the personality construct such as hostility, anger, cynicism, mistrust, and unhealthy lifestyle (1,5,6), as well as social isolation (5), lack of social support (6), and work-related stress (7), increase the risk for cardiovascular disease, suggesting a strong causal relationship between chronic stress and the development of atherosclerosis (1).…”