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Journal: 'Widower effect' is for real

LTC Liability Monitor, March 2, 2006

A study released last week in The New England Journal of Medicine confirmed the long-held belief that death or serious illness in one half of an elderly couple creates stress in the other person-and can put his or her health at risk. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania examined the so-called "widower effect" in more than 500,000 elderly couples aged 65 or older, and found that when a wife dies, the risk of the husband dying within the next 30 days increases by about 35%.

If the husband dies first, the wife's risk of death within 30 days increases even more, to 44%. The study also said that when a spouse is hospitalized for a serious illness, the partner's risk of death remains at an elevated state for as long as two years. Those whose spouses had dementia or other psychiatric conditions experienced the most stress, the study suggested.

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