title: [The "widow syndrome"].
abstract: The considerable increase in the number of elderly people in the general population in recent years has also resulted in an increase in the number of elderly patients, in particular in the office of the general practitioner. Among the over 65-year-olds, we now have about twice as many women as men, and widows outnumber widowers by about 6 to 1. As patients, widows often present with a typical general clinical picture that might be termed the "widow syndrome". This article describes this syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Abteilung für Allgemeinmedizin, Krankenhaus Eppendorf, Universität Hamburg.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hamm
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D012847:Single Person / Q000523:psychology*; D012934:Social Isolation; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000523:psychology*