Immigration Background and the Widowhood Effect on Mortality.
Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT: Objectives
Widowhood is a stressful life event with one of the most profound negative effects on health and longevity. Immigrant populations are growing and aging throughout Western nations, and marginalization and cultural differences may make some immigrants especially vulnerable to the stressors of widowhood. However, studies have yet to systematically explore whether the widowhood effect differs between immigrant and native-born individuals.Methods
Using Danish population register data from 1980 to 2014, this study assesses whether the relationship between widowhood and mortality differs between immigrants from 10 countries and native-born Danes aged 50 and older at 0-2, 3-5, and 6 and more years post-widowhood.Results
We find that immigrant men are at higher risk of dying in the first 2 years after experiencing widowhood than Danish-born men, but these mortality differences dissipate over longer periods. Immigrant women have a higher risk of having died 3 and more years after a spouse's death than Danish women. Patterns vary further by country of origin.Discussion
The results suggest that some immigrants may suffer more from widowhood than native-born individuals, giving insight into how immigration background may influence the health effects of negative life events. They also underscore the potential vulnerabilities of aging immigrant populations to stressors encountered in older age.
SUBMITTER: Caputo J
PROVIDER: S-EPMC8599013 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Similar Datasets
Project description:BackgroundWhile the "widowhood effect" is well known, there is substantial heterogeneity in the magnitude of effects reported in different studies. We conducted a meta-analysis of widowhood and mortality, focusing on longitudinal studies with follow-up from the time of bereavement.Methods and findingsA random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to calculate the overall relative risk (RR) for subsequent mortality among 2,263,888 subjects from 15 prospective cohort studies. We found a statistically significant positive association between widowhood and mortality, but the widowhood effect was stronger in the period earlier than six months since bereavement (overall RR = 1.41, 95% CI: 1.26, 1.57) compared to the effect after six months (overall RR = 1.14, 95% CI: 1.10, 1.18). Meta-regression showed that the widowhood effect was not different for those aged younger than 65 years compared to those older than 65 (P = 0.25). There was, however, a difference in the magnitude of the widowhood effect by gender; for women the RR was not statistically significantly different from the null (overall RR = 1.04, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.08), while it was for men (overall RR = 1.23, 95% CI: 1.18, 1.28).ConclusionsThe results suggest that further studies should focus more on the mechanisms that generate this association especially among men.
| S-EPMC3157386 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundIt is known that caregivers are more likely to be depressed compared to those without caregiving burden. The disappearance of caregiving burden after widowhood may alleviate depression, but at the same time the diminishment of marital resources caused by widowhood may exacerbate depression. So, what effect does widowhood have on depression among caregivers?, which was valuable for promoting the mental health of caregivers in the context of China's aging.MethodsChina Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), a longitudinal data, was selected and the effect of widowhood on depression among middle-aged and elderly caregivers was explored by using Ordinary Least Squares and Propensity Score Matching methods based on 2018 CHARLS data. The channels and subgroup difference were also analyzed.ResultsWidowhood significantly increased CES-D scores of caregivers, and there were higher CES-D scores among women, the middle-aged, rural residents, and those with higher levels of education. Widowhood increased depression of caregivers through reducing personal economic resources, and increasing possibilities to live with children and participate in social activities.ConclusionsCaregivers who experienced widowhood tend to be depressed and concerted efforts are needed. On the one hand, more social security measures and economic subsidy policy should focus on the middle-aged adults and elderly who experienced widowhood. On the other one hand, it is helpful to relieve depression by providing more social support from society and families to the middle-aged adults and elderly who experienced widowhood.
| S-EPMC10316613 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Research Questions: Are there differences in postpartum contraceptive use between women with and without immigration background? Do women more commonly use contraception following a high-risk pregnancy or caesarean section? What role does current breastfeeding play and, amongst immigrants, what is the effect of acculturation level on the frequency of contraceptive use? Study Population and Methods: Data collection was carried out as part of a larger study in three Berlin delivery units using standardised interviews (questionnaires covering e.g. sociodemographics, immigration history/acculturation and use of antenatal care); telephone interviews comprising 6 questions on postpartum contraception, breastfeeding and postpartum complications were conducted on a sample of the study population six months after delivery. Results: 247 women with, and 358 women without a background of immigration were included in the study (total study population n?=?605, response rate 81.1?%). 68?% of 1st generation immigrants, 87?% of 2nd/3rd generation women and 73?% of women without immigration background (non-immigrants) used contraception. In the logistical regression analysis 1st generation immigrants were less likely than non-immigrants to be using contraception six months postpartum, and 1st generation immigrants with low acculturation level were significantly less likely to use contraception than 2nd/3rd generation women with low acculturation level. Conclusion: In the extended postpartum period there was no major difference in contraceptive use between immigrants in general and non-immigrants. It remains unclear whether the differing contraceptive behaviour of 1st generation immigrants is the result of less access to information, sociocultural factors or differing contraceptive requirements and further targeted, qualitative study is required.
| S-EPMC4596696 | biostudies-other
Project description:ObjectivesPoverty exposes children to adverse conditions that negatively impact development. However, there is limited understanding on how different types of poverty may affect children of various immigration backgrounds differently in outcomes such as school readiness. This study examined these relationships between household and/or neighbourhood poverty, poverty timing, and immigration background with school readiness outcomes at kindergarten.MethodsThis study utilized a retrospective, population-based cohort of administrative records linked with surveys completed by kindergarten teachers for 15 369 children born in British Columbia, Canada. The exposures investigated were neighbourhood poverty (residing in a neighbourhood in the lowest income-quintile) and/or household poverty (receiving a health insurance subsidy due to low household income). Experiencing both neighbourhood and household poverty simultaneously was defined as "combined" household and neighbourhood poverty. The outcome of vulnerability on school readiness domains was assessed at kindergarten (47.8% female; mean age = 6.01 years) using teacher ratings on the Early Development Instrument (EDI).ResultsChildren exposed to combined poverty between age 0 and 2 had greater odds of being vulnerable in two or more domains of school readiness than children not exposed to any poverty during this period (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.07, 95% CI: [1.74; 2.47], p < 0.001). The effect of combined poverty was larger than household poverty only (aOR = 1.54, 95% CI: [1.31; 1.82], p < 0.001) or neighbourhood poverty only (aOR = 1.49, 95% CI: [1.30; 1.70], p < 0.001). Combined poverty was associated with negative outcomes regardless of timing. Both non-immigrants (aOR = 2.40, 95% CI: [1.92; 3.00], p < 0.001) and second-generation immigrants (aOR = 1.63, 95% CI: [1.22; 2.17], p < 0.001) experiencing combined poverty scored lower on school readiness.ConclusionsChildren who experienced combined poverty had lower levels of school readiness at kindergarten, regardless of timing and immigration background.
| S-EPMC10746556 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPast research shows that spousal death results in elevated mortality risk for the surviving spouse. However, most prior studies have inadequately controlled for socioeconomic status (SES), and it is unclear whether this 'widowhood effect' persists over time.MethodsHealth and Retirement Study participants aged 50+ years and married in 1998 (n = 12 316) were followed through 2008 for widowhood status and mortality (2912 deaths). Discrete-time survival analysis was used to compare mortality for the widowed versus the married.ResultsOdds of mortality during the first 3 months post-widowhood were significantly higher than in the continuously married (odds ratio (OR) for men = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.27, 2.75; OR for women = 1.47, 95% CI: 0.96, 2.24) in models adjusted for age, gender, race and baseline SES (education, household wealth and household income), behavioral risk factors and co-morbidities. Twelve months following bereavement, men experienced borderline elevated mortality (OR = 1.16, 95% CI: 1.00, 1.35), whereas women did not (OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.90, 1.28), though the gender difference was non-significant.ConclusionThe 'widowhood effect' was not fully explained by adjusting for pre-widowhood SES and particularly elevated within the first few months after widowhood. These associations did not differ by sex.
| S-EPMC4181424 | biostudies-literature
Project description:•Immigrants have higher life expectancy at age 1 than the native-born in Denmark, Finland and Norway do from 1990 to 2019.•Immigrants in Denmark, Finland and Norway increasingly enhance national life expectancy at age 1 over time.•Immigrants in Sweden have lower life expectancy at age 1 than native-born in Sweden do in 1990, but similar levels by 2019.•The effect of immigrants on national life expectancy at age 1 in Sweden transforms from negative to positive over time.•The unique mortality of immigrants affects rankings of life expectancy at age 1 in the Nordic region in recent years.
| S-EPMC9421394 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundThe negative impacts of spousal bereavement on the emotional health of the elderly (e.g., depression and anxiety) have been revealed. However, whether widowhood impairs emotional cognition among the elderly is less known. The purpose of this study is to reveal the emotional cognitive deficits among the widowed elderly.MethodsIn this study, we recruited 44 widowed elderly (WE) and 44 elder couples (non-widowed elderly, NWE) and examined their emotional cognition including attention and visual working memory, which were measured by the visual search task and delayed-match-to-sample task, respectively. Three kinds of emotional faces (i.e., sad, angry, and happy) were adopted as the attentional or mnemonic targets.ResultsIt revealed that WE had a general deficit in search efficiency across emotional types, while they showed mnemonic deficits in negative faces but not positive faces. Furthermore, the modeling analysis revealed that the level of depression or state anxiety of the elderly moderated the effects of widowhood on the deficits of mnemonic processing, i.e., the deficits were only evident among WE with the high level of depression or state anxiety.ConclusionThese findings reveal the attentional deficits in sad, angry, and happy faces and the mnemonic deficits in sad and angry faces among elderly who suffer from widowhood and point out the important role of emotional problems such as depression and state anxiety in modulating these emotional cognitive deficits.
| S-EPMC8841410 | biostudies-literature
Project description:ObjectivesHealth region differences in immigration patterns and premature mortality rates exist in Ontario, Canada. This study used linked population-based databases to describe the regional proportion of immigrants in the context of provincial health region variation in premature mortality.MethodsWe analyzed all adult premature deaths in Ontario from 1992 to 2012 using linked population files, Canadian census, and death registry databases. Geographic boundaries were analyzed according to 14 health service regions, known as Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs). We assessed the role of immigrant status and regional proportion of immigrants in the context of these health region variations and assessed the contribution using sex-specific multilevel negative binomial models, accounting for age, individual- and area-level immigration, and area-level material deprivation.ResultsWe observed significant premature mortality variation among health service regions in Ontario between 1992 and 2012. Average annual rates ranged across LHINs from 3.03 to 6.40 per 1000 among males and 2.04 to 3.98 per 1000 among females. The median rate ratio (RR) decreased for men from 1.14 (95% CI 1.06, 1.19) to 1.07 (95% CI 1.00, 1.11) after adjusting for year, age, area-based material deprivation, and individual- and area-level immigration, and among females reduced from 1.13 (95% CI 1.05, 1.18) to 1.04 (95% CI 1.00, 1.05). These adjustments explained 84.1% and 94.4% of the LHIN-level variation in males and females respectively. Reduced premature mortality rates were associated with immigrants compared with those for long-term residents in the fully adjusted models for both males 0.43 (95% CI 0.42, 0.44) and females 0.45 (0.44, 0.46).ConclusionThe findings demonstrate that health region differences in premature mortality in Ontario are in part explained by individual-level effects associated with the health advantage of immigrants, as well as contextual area-level effects that are associated with regional differences in the immigrant population. These factors should be considered in addition to health system factors when looking at health region variation in premature deaths.
| S-EPMC7351932 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Few studies have examined the effects of widowhood on cognitive function in Chinese elderly individuals. We conducted a longitudinal study to assess the association between widowhood and cognitive function and further explored gender differences in this association and the impact of widowhood duration. The analytical sample consisted of 5872 Chinese elderly people who participated in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) and were followed up from 2005 to 2014. We used the Chinese version of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) to assess cognitive function. Widowhood duration was calculated from the self-reported year at which the spouse passed away. Multilevel growth models were employed to estimate the association between widowhood and cognitive function while adjusting for many demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Widowhood status was associated with cognitive decline among Chinese elderly individuals after adjusting for covariates (B = -0.440, 95% CI -0.727 to -0.152), and this association was only statistically significant among men (B = -0.722, 95% CI -1.104 to -0.339). Being widowed for 5 years or less (B = -0.606, 95% CI -1.112 to -0.100), 16-20 years (B = -0.937, 95% CI -1.685 to -0.190), and 21+ years (B = -1.401, 95% CI -1.967 to -0.834) predicted worse cognitive function in men, while being widowed for more than 21+ years (B = -0.655, 95% CI -1.186 to -0.124) was associated with cognitive decline in women. More attention should be directed towards widowed men and long-term widowed elderly individuals.
| S-EPMC8392527 | biostudies-literature