Long-term effects of widowhood after terminal cancer: a Swedish nationwide follow-up.
OBJECTIVE
The authors investigated whether becoming a widow after the death of a husband from cancer results in long-term psychological or physical morbidity.


METHODS
In April and May 1999, an attempt was made to contact all of the 506 women who were living with men dying of prostate cancer in 1996 or of urinary bladder cancer in 1995 or 1996, as well as 287 population controls.


RESULTS
Completed questionnaires were received from 379 of the widows and 220 of the controls. Widowhood was associated with a low or moderate subjective quality of life (relative risk [RR] = 1.4, 95% confidence interval 1.2-1.7), low or moderate psychological well-being (RR = 1.8, 1.4-2.3), anxiety (RR = 1.9, 1.3-2.7), depression (RR = 2.2, 1.6-2.9), sleep disturbances (RR = 1.9, 1.5-2.4), diabetes (RR = 3.5, 1.2-7.9), and economic dissatisfaction (RR = 1.6, 1.3-2.0).


CONCLUSIONS
An excess risk of psychological morbidity, diabetes mellitus and dissatisfaction with the economic situation was found in the widowed population.
Valdimarsdóttir
Unnur
U
Department of Clinical Cancer Epidemiology, Institute of Oncology-Pathology, Karolinska Institute, Box 4402, 10268 Stockholm, Sweden. Unnur.Valdimarsdottir@onkpat.ki.se
Helgason
Asgeir R
AR
Fürst
Carl-Johan
CJ
Adolfsson
Jan
J
Steineck
Gunnar
G
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D003863:Depression / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology; D012042:Registries; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D013995:Time; D001749:Urinary Bladder Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality*; D017805:Widowhood / Q000523:psychology*