Widowhood and mortality risk in Taiwan: a population-based matched cohort study.
Int J Epidemiol
; 53(2)2024 Feb 14.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38553032
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Studying the causes of death among deceased spouses and surviving partners may provide insights into the underlying mechanisms of the association between widowhood and mortality. This study investigated the mortality risk of widowhood in Taiwan, examined the association of the cause of death between widowed individuals and their deceased spouses and explored potential modifying effects by age, gender and duration after widowhood.METHODS:
This matched cohort study utilized Taiwan's National Health Insurance claims database and National Death Registry. In total, 204â010 widowed men and 596â136 widowed women were identified with a mean follow-up period of 6.9 and 7.9 years, respectively, and 816â040 comparison men and 2â384â544 comparison women were selected.RESULTS:
Widowhood was associated with an increased mortality risk, with widowed men having a 1.32 increased risk and widowed women having a 1.27 increased risk. Age at spousal death and duration modified the associations after widowhood. The widowed individuals are more likely to die by the same cause as the deceased spouse if they died by suicide, accident, endocrine, gastrointestinal disorders or infection.CONCLUSIONS:
The study suggests that healthcare policies and interventions should be developed to improve widowed individuals' health and overall welfare.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Suicide
/
Widowhood
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
En
Journal:
Int J Epidemiol
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Taiwán