The deep pain after the death of a loved one can be fatal, according to new research recently published in the journal Public health borders.
The study reveals a significant link between crushing sorrow and an increased risk of mortality over 10 years, Cnn reported.
Researchers from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, led by the postdoctoral researcher Put Kjærgaard Nielsen, followed the health results of 1,735 parents bereaved for more than 10 years. They ranked group participants with “weak” and “high” levels of sorrow symptoms.
During the study of a decade, a striking difference appeared at 26.5% of those who have high symptoms of mourning, against only 7.3% of those who were less powerful.
The “high levels” of sorrow have been defined as feeling more than half of the nine symptoms identified, including emotional numbness, feelings of empty of meaning, difficulties in accepting loss and confusion on its identity.
The participants fulfilled questionnaires at the start of the study, then again six months and three years after their mourning, providing a detailed image of their emotional state.
The study also observed increased interaction with the health system among people with high mourning symptoms, noting higher use of antidepressant drugs, mental health services and primary care.
“Those who have a high trajectory of sorrow seem to be a group of vulnerable parents already before death, with a need for particular attention,” said Nielsen Cnn By e-mail.
“(They) may need additional support. They may experience distress and have difficulty facing the situation,” she said, pointing to previous studies that have highlighted a weak socio-economic status, poor self-disclary health and higher symptoms of depression and anxiety like all contributing to a crushing sorrow.
Although this study has not specified causes of death, its results are aligned with existing research on the impact of the loss of physical trauma.
Cardiologist Sian Harding, professor emeritus of cardiac pharmacology at Imperial College in London, which was not involved in research, underlined the “longitudinal perspective” of the study.
She noted that if an acute effect of mourning on heart health is well known, this study demonstrates a prolonged and damaging impact which can manifest itself as a heart disease and other ailments.
“It was not a particular surprise for me that this particular form of stress, although prolonged, has a detrimental effect on the body. It can be in particular as a heart disease, but other things,” said Harding.
This prolonged stress against sorrow can cause an increase in blood pressure, an increase in cortisol levels, a higher risk of diabetes and poor mental health.
“Broken heart syndrome” well established – also called cardiomyopathy induced by stress or takotsubo cardiomyopathy – a sudden weakening of heart muscle, is an excellent example of the physical toll of acute stress.
The results of the latest study suggest that health workers “could be able to discover relatives in distress at the start of the patient’s disease trajectory and offer monitoring,” said Nielsen.
