An Epidemiologic Study of Mortality among Bereaved Parents

Abstract

To study the health consequences of parental bereavement, we compared the mortality in two groups of bereaved Israeli parents with that in the general population. One cohort comprised the parents of all 2518 soldiers 18 to 40 years of age who were killed during the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The second consisted of the parents of 1128 men 18 to 30 years of age who died in accidents between 1971 and 1975. Both groups were followed through 1983. The comparison population was the entire population of Jewish Israelis for which sex-, age-, and calendar year-specific mortality rates were available. The 10-year age-adjusted life-table mortality was higher among fathers whose sons died in accidents rather than in war (P = 0.045), but mortality did not differ significantly between the two groups of mothers. Overall, we found no excess mortality among the bereaved parents as compared with the general population. The standardized mortality ratios for the fathers and mothers of sons killed at war were 0.91 and 0.90, respectively; for fathers and mothers whose sons died by accident, they were 1.04 and 0.91, respectively. None were significantly different from unity. There was no consistent evidence of an elevated risk of death, early or late, after the loss. Widowed and divorced parents who lost a son did have increased mortality, which was statistically significant in mothers. Our findings provide no support for the hypothesis that the loss of an adult son is associated with increased short-term or long-term mortality in married parents.

Prevalence and psychological correlates of complicated grief among bereaved adults 2.5–3.5 years after September 11th attacks

“…This finding is consistent with a number of studies (Cleiren et al, 1994;Leahy, 1992;Levav et al, 1988;Nolen-Hoeksema & Larson, 1999;Sanders, 1979), which have consistently shown that the loss of an adult child might result in more intense or persistent grief than any other type of loss.…”

“…This finding was replicated in non-U.S. populations in Israel (Levav, Friedlander, Kark, & Peroz, 1988) and The Netherlands (Cleiren et al, 1994). A recent study (Shear, Frank, Houck, & Reynolds, 2005) found that parents who lost a child showed a much lower response to complicated grief treatment as compared to patients who experienced other types of loss (17% vs. 60%, respectively).…”

Clinical and Biological Aspects of Bereavement and Loss-Induced Depression: A Reappraisal

“…Indeed, the death of a child can be a devastating event: parents may feel overwhelmed by feelings of guilt and helplessness, manifestations of grief may well last for a lifetime, and if the marriage has been full of conflicts it often disintegrates and ends up in divorce [1]. However, a recent large epidemiologic study did not provide evidence of increased mortality among parents who lost a son of adult age in the war or because of an accident, although the subgroup of widowed and divorced parents did have increased mortality, a result reaching statistical significance in mothers [22]. This find ing may suggest an interaction between parental and mar ital bereavement, possibly related to the absence of spou sal support during parental bereavement.…”

Cancer incidence and survival following bereavement

“…Additionally, we obtained the parent's birth date, country of origin, year of immigration when appropriate, and date and cause of death. Although these data were already available, 30 for reliability, the linkage and all information were confirmed.…”