ArticleEpidemiology and psychiatric sciences2020
Widowhood and mortality: a Danish nationwide register-based cohort study.
Article in Epidemiology and psychiatric sciences, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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15 citing papers in PubMed, 39 citations in OpenAlex.
- Effects of physical disability and widowhood on the survival of centenarians: a 7-year follow-up of CHCCS centenarians.Frontiers in aging · 2026Article
- Widowhood mortality among married and cohabiting partners: a nationwide study in Finland.The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences · 2025Article
- Cause-specific mortality after spousal bereavement in a Danish register-based cohort.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Inter-relationships of depression and anxiety symptoms among widowed and non-widowed older adults: findings from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey based on network analysis and propensity score matching.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Pair bonding and disruption impact lung transcriptome in monogamous Peromyscus californicus.BMC genomics · 2023Article
- The association between adverse events in later life and mortality in older individuals.Comprehensive psychoneuroendocrinology · 2023Article
- Contribution of CKD to mortality in middle-aged and elderly people with diabetes: the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study : CKD was a chronic stressor for diabetics.Diabetology & metabolic syndrome · 2023Article
- Marital status and all-cause mortality rate in older adults: a population-based prospective cohort study.BMC geriatrics · 2023Article
- Impact of lifestyle and psychological resilience on survival among the oldest-old in China: a cohort study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Sex differences in health care expenditures and mortality after spousal bereavement: A register-based Danish cohort study.PloS one · 2023Article
- Dynamical indicators in time series of healthcare expenditures predict mortality risk of older adults following spousal bereavement.BMC geriatrics · 2022Article
- Effects of functional limitations and activities of daily living on the mortality of the older people: A cohort study in China.Frontiers in public health · 2022Article
- The Widowhood Effect on Mortality in Older Patients with Hip Fracture.International journal of general medicine · 2022Article
- Experiences of becoming widowed in old age - a cross-countries study with qualitative interviews from Denmark and quantitative measures of association in a Swedish sample.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2021Article
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6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsWidowed people have increased mortality compared to married people of the same age. Although most widowed people are of older age, few studies include the oldest old. As life expectancy is increasing, knowledge of widowhood into older age is needed. This study aimed to examine mortality and widowhood in older age by comparing mortality in widowed and married people by sex, age, time since spousal loss and cause of death.
methodsA Danish register-based matched cohort study of 10% of widowed persons ⩾65 years in the years 2000-2009. For each randomly drawn widowed person, five married persons were matched on sex and age. Mortality rate ratios (MRR) were calculated using Poisson regression, and stratified according to sex and 5-year age intervals. MRRs were furthermore calculated by time since spousal loss and by specific cause of death.
resultsThe study included 82 130 persons contributing with 642 914.8 person-years. The overall MRR between widowed and married persons with up to 16 years of follow-up was 1.25 (95% CI 1.23-1.28). At age ⩾95 years for men, and ⩾90 years for women, no differences in mortality rates were seen between widowed and married persons. Mortality in widowed persons was increased for most specific causes of death, with the highest MRR from external causes (MRR 1.53 [1.35-1.74]) and endocrine diseases (MRR 1.51 [1.34-1.70]).
conclusionsWidowhood was associated with increased mortality in older age for both men and women until age ⩾95 and ⩾90 years, respectively. Increased mortality was observed for almost all causes of death.
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