A new study in PLOS One investigated the impact of spousal bereavement on medical expenditures and mortality, focusing on age and sexual orientation.
The study involved the analysis of data of over 900,000 Danish elderly people between 2011 and 2016.
“Changes in health care expenditures in those who suffer bereavement were compared with time matched changes among those who did not. Mortality hazards were analysed with time to event analysis,” according to the researchers.
“A total of 77,722 (~8.4%) individuals experienced bereavement, 65.8% being females. Among males, bereavement was associated with increase of expenditures the year after, that was 42 Euros per week (95% CI, 36 to 48) larger than the non-bereaved group.”
What the study concluded: “Bereavement affects older people differently with younger males being most frail with limited recovery potential.”
