Mortality after spousal loss: are there socio-demographic differences?

This study evaluates the effect of spousal death on mortality among Israeli adults and examines differences in this effect by duration of bereavement, age, sex, education, ethnic origin, household size, and number of children. Data are taken from the Israel Longitudinal Mortality Study which is based on a linkage of records from a 20% sample of the 1983 census to records of deaths occurring during the period 1983-1992. The study population comprised 49,566 men and 41,264 women, of whom 4,402 (9%) and 11,114 (27%), respectively, were bereaved during the follow-up period. Excess mortality among the bereaved was evident among both men and women, especially after bereavement of short duration. During the first 6 months, the excess mortality was about 50% among women and about 40% among men. For men, the effect of bereavement on mortality decreased linearly with age, with a relative risk of 3 among younger men during early widowhood. Bereavement had a greater impact on the more educated men. The effect of bereavement did not vary by ethnic origin or household size.Bereavement Mortality Widowhood Socio-economic status Israel

Mortality differentials among women: the Israel Longitudinal Mortality Study

The first aim of this study was to examine differentials in mortality among Israeli adult women with respect to ethnic origin, marital status, number of children and several measures of socio-economic status; the second was to compare mortality differentials among women with those found for Israeli men. Data are based on a linkage of records from a 20% sample of the 1983 census with the records of deaths occurring until the end of 1992. The study population includes 79,623 women and the number of deaths was 14,332. Measures of SES included education, number of rooms, household amenities and possession of a car. Results indicated higher mortality among women originating from North Africa compared with Asian and European women. Adjustment to SES eliminated the excess mortality among North African women and revealed a lower mortality of Asian women, relative to Europeans. Among women aged 45-69, substantial and consistent mortality differentials were evident for all SES indicators examined where mortality declined with improved socio-economic position. Mortality was related to women's childbearing history, with the highest mortality among childless women. Mortality differentials among women aged 70+ were generally narrower than those found for younger women. Gender differences in mortality differentials varied by the socio-demographic indicator and age.Mortality differentials Women SES Gender Israel

Effects of husbands' and wives' education on each other's mortality

Education is an important predictor of one's own cardiovascular disease (CVD) and overall mortality. Little is known, however, regarding the effect of other individuals, specifically a spouse, on these risks. In the present study, we examine the contribution of a spouse's educational attainment and the effect of educational discrepancy between spouses on CVD and overall mortality. Data were taken from the Israel Longitudinal Mortality Study, which linked a 20% sample of the 1983 census to mortality records through 1992. The study cohort comprised 37,618 married couples aged 45-69 years. During the 9.5-year follow-up 6058 men and 2568 women died. Overall and CVD mortality hazard ratios were calculated using Cox proportional hazard regression models. We found that the educational attainment of both spouses were significant predictors of one's own overall mortality. For CVD mortality, however, a wife's educational attainment was a stronger predictor of her husband's risk of dying than his own educational level, while for women a husband's education had little affect. Educational discrepancy between partners did not affect overall mortality and had a varied effect on CVD mortality by sex. Specifically, highly educated women had an almost two-fold increased risk of CVD mortality when married to less educated husbands, while lesser-educated women were not affected by their spouses' educational attainment. Spouses' education adds valuable information when assessing mortality differentials among married persons, and socioeconomic characteristics of one's immediate family are important influences on one's health.Cardiovascular disease Education Mortality Socioeconomic status Spouse Israel