Norway Study Links Widowhood to 14% Higher Mortality Risk, Flags Divorcees Too

1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 13

About 20,000 people in each of three cohorts tracked from 1984 to 2019 showed higher death risk after divorce, breakup or widowhood than peers who stayed partnered.
The BMJ Public Health study found the divorce-or-breakup link persisted after adjusting for age, sex, health habits, self-rated health and loneliness, though it identified association rather than causation.
Widowhood was tied to roughly 14% higher mortality risk, with the strongest association appearing in the earliest period studied.
In the second study period, the breakup-mortality link strengthened and reached statistical significance only among women.
The authors said the findings support treating social disconnection as a public-health and clinical issue as isolation rises.