@article {6082, title = {The effect of widowhood on husbands{\textquoteright} and wives{\textquoteright} physical activity: the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {J Behav Med}, volume = {37}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Aug}, pages = {806-17}, abstract = {

This prospective study examined the effect of widowhood on physical activity by comparing widowed elders to health status-, age-, and sex-matched married controls. Participants included 396 married controls and 396 widows/widowers age 64-91 (M age~=~72.7~years) who experienced the death of their spouse while participating in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Compared to married controls, widowed men, but not women, were more likely to increase their physical activity following the death of their spouse. However, this increased level of activity was not sustained and declines as time since spousal death passes. Moreover, during the year before spousal death, soon-to-be widowed men, but not women, increase their physical activity. Our results suggest that widowed men experience significant changes in physical activity and that the transition to widowhood contribute to these changes.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cardiovascular System, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Motor Activity, Prospective Studies, Sex Characteristics, Spouses, Time Factors, Widowhood}, issn = {1573-3521}, doi = {10.1007/s10865-013-9532-7}, author = {Stahl, Sarah T and Schulz, Richard} } @article {6696, title = {Husbands{\textquoteright} and Wives{\textquoteright} Physical Activity and Depressive Symptoms: Longitudinal Findings from the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Ann Behav Med}, volume = {49}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Oct}, pages = {704-14}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: When examining older adults{\textquoteright} health behaviors and psychological health, it is important to consider the social context.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine in older adult marriages whether each spouse{\textquoteright}s physical activity predicted changes in their own (actor effects) and their partner{\textquoteright}s (partner effects) depressive symptoms. Gender differences were also examined.

METHOD: Each spouse within 1260 married couples (at baseline) in the Cardiovascular Health Study completed self-report measures at wave 1 (1989-1990), wave 3 (1992-1993), and wave 7 (1996-1997). Dyadic path analyses were performed.

RESULTS: Husbands{\textquoteright} physical activity significantly predicted own decreased depressive symptoms (actor effect). For both spouses, own physical activity did not significantly predict the spouse{\textquoteright}s depressive symptoms (partner effects). However, husbands{\textquoteright} physical activity and depressive symptoms predicted wives{\textquoteright} physical activity and depressive symptoms (partner effects), respectively. Depressive symptoms did not predict physical activity.

CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that husbands{\textquoteright} physical activity is particularly influential for older married couples{\textquoteright} psychological health.

}, keywords = {Aged, Cardiovascular System, Depression, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Motor Activity, Sex Characteristics, Spouses}, issn = {1532-4796}, doi = {10.1007/s12160-015-9705-4}, author = {Monin, Joan K and Levy, Becca and Chen, Baibing and Fried, Terri and Stahl, Sarah T and Schulz, Richard and Doyle, Margaret and Kershaw, Trace} } @article {7001, title = {Mortality After Bereavement: The Role of Cardiovascular Disease and Depression.}, journal = {Psychosom Med}, volume = {78}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Jul-Aug}, pages = {697-703}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVES: Late-life bereavement is associated with an increased risk of mortality. This study assesses the associations among bereavement, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and depressive symptoms on mortality in older men and women.

METHODS: We examined data from the Cardiovascular Health Study, a prospective population-based cohort study of older adults. We compared mortality in those who became bereaved from 1989 to 1999 (n = 593) to an age- and sex-matched sample of individuals who remained married (n = 593). Cox regression was used to examine the association between bereavement and 3-year all-cause mortality and whether or not the association differed by sex, presence of CVD, or postbereavement depressive symptoms.

RESULTS: One hundred ninety-nine (16.8\%) individuals died. There was no association of bereavement with mortality (hazard ratio [HR] = 0.98 [0.74-1.30]). However, there were significant interaction effects of bereavement with participant sex (p < .001) and CVD (p = .010). Bereavement decreased the risk of mortality in women (HR = 0.67 [0.46-0.97]) and increased the risk of mortality in men (HR = 1.77 [1.14-2.75]). Within sex, the association of bereavement with mortality differed according to CVD status. The reduced risk of mortality associated with bereavement in women was only observed in women with CVD, and the increased risk in men was only observed in men without CVD. High levels of depressive symptoms attenuated the relation between bereavement and mortality in men without CVD.

CONCLUSIONS: The relation between bereavement and mortality was different in men and women and varied by CVD status. Bereavement decreased mortality in women with CVD and increased mortality in men without CVD.

}, issn = {1534-7796}, doi = {10.1097/PSY.0000000000000317}, author = {Stahl, Sarah T and Arnold, Alice M and Chen, Jia-Yuh and Anderson, Stewart and Schulz, Richard} }