On the Mortality in Husbands and Wives

Cancer Morbidity in Married Couples*

“…There are a few other studies in the literature of cancer in husband and wife, in which the data are based on retrospective death certificate diagnoses. In the first two (8,21–22), the authors found an incidence of cancer above the expectation in the spouses of the cancer subjects but in the third study (23) the author found no difference in the rates. More recently the incidence of adult leukemia (24) in husband and wife was also studied retrospectively from death certificates, for a period of about ten years.…”

“…In view of the fact that in most of the spouses, different types of cancer developed at different anatomic sites (Table 2), the foregoing epidemiological observations differ from those of studies (16,17) on Burkitt's lymphoma and “cluster” leukemia cases which indicate an infectious origin. On the other hand, the same virus may produce different tumors (18–20). There are a few other studies in the literature of cancer in husband and wife, in which the data are based on retrospective death certificate diagnoses.…”

When Harry left Sally: A New Estimate of Marital Disruption in the U.S., 1860 - 1948

“…Ciocco (1940) reports a coefficient of 0.56 but that is a correlation between the length of life of husband and wife calculated from death records of 2578 couples. Among all these works, Wilson's (2002) research produces a value closest in spirit to ρ in equation (6) and so in the estimation that follows, I use equation (6) with ρ = 0.2.…”

The Clinical Management of Grief

“…Based on an understanding of the process of grief and a knowledge of the pattern of mortality associated with conjugal bereavement, three conceptual levels of pathogenetic mechanisms appear relevant; physiologic, behavioral, and social. Assuming that Ciocco's observation that death is rare before four months have elapsed after a conjugal loss is true and not a methodologic artifact, it appears most promising to look for pathogenetic forces in the phase of despair (16). On the other hand, given the limited state of knowledge, consideration of all elements and phases of grief is appropriate.…”

“…Depression and the accompanying physiologic changes in both endocrine functioning and monoamine neurotransmitters may prove to be a mediating mechanism leading to illness and death through suicide, ischemic heart disease, infectious disease, or general susceptibility to disease (17–20). Alterations in immune function may lower the vulnerability to infectious diseases, and thus increase the risk of morbidity and mortality from this source (16, 21, 22). The neuroendocrine system, as an effector system with far‐reaching biochemical regulatory actions on virtually every tissue in the body including the brain, provides a promising field for research on a major mediating linkage through which psychologic processes can exert pathogenetic influences upon bodily processes (23, 24).…”