Death After Widow(er)hood: an Analysis of Mortality Rates up to 13 Years After Bereavement

This article describes analyses of mortality after bereavement based on a national random sample of 503 elderly people widowed in 1979. This analyses builds on earlier analyses at 5 & 6 years after bereavement. Over the 13.5-year period analyzed, 62% of the sample had died. Although earlier analyses had indicated excess mortality in the first 6 months of bereavement for men aged 75+, there were no further significant excess mortality rates over the 13.75-year period analyzed. (57 Refs.)