[3] Research has found that surviving spouses tended to experience significant weight loss after the death of their partner.
[4] Danit Shahar and colleagues surveyed 116 older individuals in order to track their weight and eating habits over the course of their longitudinal study.
The authors hypothesized that this weight loss was the result of the widowed participants not finding as much enjoyment in eating as they did before their spouses death.
Married men also report a higher rate of happiness in their marriage which could be drastically altered after the partners death.
[6][7] A 2021 systematic review and meta-analysis by Singham, Bell, Saunders, and Stott reported that significant life stressors, such as the loss of a spouse, may be considered a risk factor in cognitive decline.
[8] Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, also referred to as broken heart syndrome, has been discussed in contexts surrounding great physical and emotional stress, such as when someone has been widowed.
[11] With all of these aspects of a widowed individual being affected maintaining a sense of normality is important to help avoid depression-like symptoms.
A 2015 study conducted by Wright and colleagues revealed that there is a significant difference in urban-rural variation in the social environment as well as in health outcomes.
[13] White people were found to have "a large and enduring widowhood effect" because there is no reparation to make up for the survival advantages that marriage gave them, even if they have been widowed for years.
[15] It has been suggested that the widowhood effect was a mere coincidence resulting from the selection of partners with similar health risks.
In a recent study by Boyle and colleagues, it was concluded that the increased mortality rate of widows is caused by the death of their spouse.
This particular syndrome seems to occur when a person experiences an overwhelming amount of stress in their life in a short period of time.