Spousal bereavement after dementia caregiving: A turning point for immune health.

ABSTRACT: Losing a spouse can increase the risk for premature mortality, and declines in immune health are thought to play a role. Most of the supporting data have come from cross-sectional studies comparing already-bereaved individuals to matched controls, which provides valuable information about health disparities between groups but does not reveal health changes over time. Moreover, the health consequences of bereavement may be unique for dementia family caregivers, a large and growing segment of the population. The current study sought to evaluate the course of health around 52 dementia spousal caregivers' bereavement by capturing lymphocyte proliferation to Con A and PHA and self-rated health before and after spousal loss. To investigate the moderating role of the social environment, we examin

SUBMITTER: Wilson SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7849822 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature