Women get healthier after their husbands die
It’s a long held belief that a successful and happy relationship can be key to long-term good health. Research has shown that marriage has a protective effect on health, lowering the risk of heart attack and depression, and increasing the chance of surviving from cancer. A new study, however, by the University of Padova, Italy, which followed 733 Italian men and 1154 women for four and a half years found that while men suffer negative consequences when their wives die – because they rely more heavily on their spouses – women often appear to get healthier.
Dr Caterina Trevisan, the lead researcher on the study, thought that the results were due to women taking on more responsibilities in terms of household management and healthcare and thus more likely to feel stressed while married. There was also the generally accepted fact that, as women generally have a longer lifespan than men, they may also suffer from the effects of the care-giver burden, since they often devote themselves to caring for their husband in later life. Dr Trevisan said these factors may be behind the lower risk of depression in unmarried women.
The research also confirmed the long held belief that widows cope better than widowers after the death of a partner. Incidences of depression are found more commonly in men following the death of their partner while women appear less vulnerable to mental health issues then men, possibly due to greater coping resources and ability to express emotions.
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