title: In a Longevity Society, Loss and Grief Are Emerging Risk Factors for Health Care Use: Findings From the Health and Retirement Survey Cohort Aged 50 to 70 Years.
abstract: In a society of long lives, parent and child life can overlap by as much as 50 years. Most children now experience the death of their parents as adults. Many of the 2.5 million deaths each year in the United States are parents. Parental loss is a risk factor for subsequent illness. The Health and Retirement Survey is a representative cohort of persons aged 50 to 70 years. Using the 2010 cohort data, we estimate risk for use of health care after the death of a parent. Loss is a near universal experience in the cohort (87%). A report of any loss increases risk of health care utilization by 20% to 30%. For a longevity society, preventing loss-related hospitalization is a measurable outcome for bereavement care.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gerontology, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA tonimile@uga.edu.
authors.forename: Toni P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Allegra
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Amara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ezeamama
authors.affiliation: School of Nursing, University of Texas, Austin, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Cherie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Simpson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Gerontology, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Kerstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gerst-Emerson
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Elkins
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001293:Attitude to Death; D005260:Female; D006117:Grief; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D012179:Retirement; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: adults; bereavement care; health and retirement survey; health care utilization; hospitalization; outpatient visits