(Ivanhoe Newswire) – Losing a child, may also mean lower life expectancy for parents. According to research, parents who lose their child during the first 12 months of life are at a significantly increased risk of an early death and the effect can last up to 25 years.
Researches looked at a random 5 percent sample of United Kingdom death registrations from the year 1971 to 2006 that included parents whose child had survived beyond the first year of life; those whose child had died before reaching a first birthday; and parents whose children had been stillborn.
The results showed that parents in Scotland were more than twice as likely to die or become widowed in the first 15 years after the loss of a child in the first year as those who had not been bereaved in this way.
Bereaved mothers were especially prone to an early death, the figures showed.
Bereaved mothers in England and Wales were more than four times as likely to die in the first 15 years after losing a child. Although the effects lessened gradually over time, they were still 1.5 times more likely to die than mothers who had not lost their child early, up to 25 years after the death.
According to the authors, “dying of a broken heart”, seems to also apply to losing a child in infancy, not just people who lose their spouse or partner, in which they often die earlier than expected.
The authors suggest that the stress of bereavement may affect the immune system by weakening it.
“Bereaved parents may also be more likely to use maladaptive coping strategies, such as alcohol misuse,” the authors were quoted saying, suggesting a higher risk for alcohol related illnesses or unintentional injuries. Furthermore, the authors also suggest that stillbirth and infant deaths could be more common among parents with poor health.
“It is imperative that cause of death be further investigated in order to establish the factors leading to increased mortality in bereaved parents,” the authors were quoted saying.
SOURCE: BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, published online September 2011
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