Mourning in a Pandemic: The Differential Impact of Widowhood on Mental Health During COVID-19.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

The death of a spouse is an established predictor of mental health decline that foreshadows worsening physical health and elevated mortality. The millions widowed by COVID-19 worldwide may experience even worse health outcomes than comparable pre-pandemic widows given the particularities of dying, mourning, and grieving during a pandemic defined by protracted social isolation, economic precarity, and general uncertainty. If COVID-19 pandemic bereavement is more strongly associated with mental health challenges than pre-pandemic bereavement, the large new cohort of COVID-19 widow(er)s may be at substantial risk of downstream health problems long after the pandemic abates.

Methods

We pooled population-based Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe data from

SUBMITTER: Wang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9278192 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature