02366nas a2200193 4500008004100000022001400041245008400055210006900139260001700208300001200225490000700237520179100244100002002035700002102055700001802076700002202094700002002116856003602136 2016 ENG d a1534-779600aMortality After Bereavement: The Role of Cardiovascular Disease and Depression.0 aMortality After Bereavement The Role of Cardiovascular Disease a c2016 Jul-Aug a697-7030 v783 a

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.

1 aStahl, Sarah, T1 aArnold, Alice, M1 aChen, Jia-Yuh1 aAnderson, Stewart1 aSchulz, Richard uhttps://chs-nhlbi.org/node/7001