Spousal bereavement, mortality and risk of negative health outcomes among older adults: a population-based study

Lucas Morin; Jonas W Wastesson; Stefan Fors; Neda Agahi; Kristina Johnell

The second major conclusion is that the effect of bereavement reaches its peak immediately after the death of the spouse and weakens as time elapses. The existence of a time-dependent relationship has already been suggested by previous studies, albeit with conflicting evidence. 6,15,52-54 By using flexible parametric survival models, we were able to visualise the shape of the association between bereavement and negative health outcomes over time. Our results regarding mortality are well aligned with recent findings in Denmark, where the 2.5 times higher risk of death during the first month after spousal loss declined down to 38% six to twelve months later. 55 Additionally, the present study shows that while the risk of acute cardiovascular events, pneumonia, and non-elective hospitalisations also increased in a transient fashion, other outcomes such as hip fractures, injuries due to self-harm, and nursing home admissions remained elevated for longer periods of time. This has important implications for public health and clinical practice, as it means that bereavement support should be offered without delay to mitigate short-term decline and then maintained over a sufficiently long period of time.