| Author(s) and Date | Country | Research Design | Number and Type of Subjects | Mortality Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kraus and Lilienfeld, 1959 39 | USA | Retrospective from vital statistics | Bereaved spouses from all deaths in US in 1949-1951 vs. matched married controls | Elevated for widows and widowers. Risk of mortality 7x greater for widowed under age 45 than for controls. Risk for men greater than for women |
| Young, Benjamin, and Wallis, 1963 77 | UK | Cohort of widowers | 4,486 recent widowers over age 55 compared with death rates for married men of same age. Followed for 5 years | Significantly higher death rates for widowers in 1st 6 months following bereavement than for married. No differences after 6 months |
| Cox and Ford, 1964 17 | UK | Retrospective from vital statistics | 60,000 widows followed for 5 years after application for widow's pension. | Some elevation of mortality rate in 2nd year following bereavement; none in 1st, 3rd, 4th, or 5th year. |
| Rees and Lutkins, 1967 63 | UK | Cohort of bereaved relatives | 903 bereaved relatives vs. 878 non-bereaved matched controls followed for 6 years. | Significantly higher mortality for bereaved spouses in 1st year. Insignificant differences in 2nd and 3rd years. In general, mortality rate for men higher than for women; rates for bereaved relatives higher than nonbereaved for all types. |
| Clayton, 1974 9 | USA | Cohort of widows and widowers | 109 widows and widowers and matched controls followed for 4 years. | No increased risk of mortality. |
| Shepherd and Barraclough, 1974 66 | UK | Cohort of bereaved spouses | 44 spouses of suicides vs. nonspecified, nonsuicide widow group. Age unspecified. | No difference in mortality and remarriage rates between suicide widows and nonsuicide widows in 1st year. 23% mortality over 58-month period. |
| Gerber et al., 1975 25 | USA | Cohort of bereaved spouses | 169 bereaved spouses and matched married controls followed for 4 years. | No deaths in either group during 1st year. Slightly higher percentage of deaths among bereaved in 2nd and 3rd years. |
| Ward, 1976 75 | UK | Cohort of bereaved spouses | 87 widowers and 279 widows compared with known age- and sex- specific rates. | No increased risk of mortality |
| Helsing and Szklo, 1981 31 | USA | Prospective population study | 12-year prospective study of 92,000 people. Matched pair analysis of bereaved and married spouses. | No increased mortality in 1st 6 months. Highly significant increase thereafter for widowers, especially those who did not remarry. No excess mortality for widows. |
| Levav, 1982 41 | UK | Reanalysis of Rees and Lutkins 63 cohort focusing on parents. | 35 bereaved parents vs. 29 controls followed for 5 years. | Highly significant difference between bereaved and nonbereaved cumulative death rate over 5 years (34.3% vs. 6.9%). |
From: CHAPTER 2, Epidemiologic Perspectives on the Health Consequences of Bereavement
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