Assessing survival in widowers, and controls - a nationwide, six- to nine-year follow-up.

• Published in: BMC Public Health
• Main Authors: Skulason, Bragi, Jonsdottir, Lilja Sigrun, Sigurdardottir, Valgerdur, Helgason, Asgeir R
• Other Authors: Landspitali The National University Hospital, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: BioMed Central 2012
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Cause of Death; Censuses; Confidence Intervals; Follow-Up Studies; Humans; Iceland; Male; Middle Aged; Survival Analysis; Widowhood
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2336/238443; https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-12-96

To access full text version of this article. Please click on the hyperlink "View/open" at the bottom of this page The aim of this study was to assess if widowers had an increased mortality rate during the first 6 to 9 years after the death of their wife, compared initially to an age-matched control group and also compared to the general population of Iceland. The study base was comprised of all 371 men born in 1924-1969 who were widowed in Iceland in 1999-2001 and 357 controls, married men, who were matched by age and residence.The widowers and controls were followed through the years 2002-2007 using information from Statistics Iceland. Mortality rates were compared between the groups and also with the general population. The mortality rate comparisons were: study group vs. control group, on the one hand, and study group vs. general population on the other. Causes of death were also compared between widowers and their wives. A statistically significant increase in mortality in the widowers' group, compared to controls, was observed.Lifestyle-related factors could not be excluded as contributing to cause of death in these cases. Being a widower was related to an increased risk of death for at least 9 years after the death of their wife. Landspitali - National University Hospital in Reykjavik Iceland, Rannis, the Icelandic Centre for Research (provides assistance to Icelandic science & technology, Reykjavik, Iceland), Utfararstofa Islands (a funeral home, Reykjavik, Iceland), Swedish Cancer Society (Cancerfonden), Styrktarsjodur Lifsins samtaka um liknarmedferd (Palliative Care Association, Iceland), Utfarastofa Kirkjugardanna (a funeral home, Reykjavik, Iceland)