Mortality after bereavement: An analysis of mortality rates and associations with mortality 13 years after bereavement

The mortality rates of a national sample of 505 elderly people who were widowed in 1979 were analysed. Over the 13 1/4‐year period analysed, 62% of the sample had died. Although earlier analyses had indicated excess mortality in the first 6 months of bereavement for men aged 75+, there were no other significant excess mortality rates over the 13 1/4‐year period. Mortality was analysed in relation to the demographic characteristics of the whole sample and in relation to the inerview data on physical, social and psychological characteristics of the responders in 1979. Logistic regression analysis showed that age, sex and functional ability were the strongest predictors of mortality, and frequency of telephone contacts was only significant for the younger widowed.