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Cited by 46Grief, Bereavement, and Mental HealthDeath, Funerary Practices, and MourningFamily Dynamics and Relationships

Mortality in parents after the death of a child

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Song, Jieun, Mailick, Marsha R., Greenberg, Jan S., Floyd, Frank J.·2019·Social Science & Medicine
DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112522PMC PMC6802289
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Abstract

Objective The death of a child is a traumatic stressor that takes a toll on the health of parents. This study examined long-term impacts of the death of a child on the risk of early mortality in bereaved parents. In a follow-up analysis, a twin subsample was analyzed to examine potential genetic confounding.Method We analyzed data from the Midlife in the United States (MIDUS) study. The primary sample consists of two groups of MIDUS 2 participants (2004-06); (1) parents who experienced the death of a child prior to MIDUS 2 (n = 451) and (2) comparison parents who had not experienced death of any children (n = 1804) (mean age = 63). We also analyzed 52 twin pairs in which one twin experienced the death of a child and 271 twin pairs in which both twins had all living children. Mortality status of parents was assessed in 2017.Results Parents who had experienced the death of a child had a 32% higher likelihood of early mortality (defined as dying earlier than life expectancy) than their peers who did not have any deceased children, and they were more likely to die of heart disease. Analyses of the twin subsample revealed significantly lower concordance for early mortality among the pairs with a bereaved twin than among control twins, consistent with non-genetic effects.Conclusions The findings suggest that the death of a child has lasting impacts on the risk of early mortality in bereaved parents. This study provides the first U.S. estimate of bereavement effects on mortality extending through the parents' full life course, with significant public health implications. In addition, analysis of concordance of early death rates in the twin subsample suggests the impact on mortality of parental bereavement, net of genetic factors.

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  • The loss of a first-degree family member significantly increases the risk of mortality, disease, and suicide for the mourner.

    “The loss of a first-degree family member significantly increases the risk of mortality, disease, and suicide for the mourner (2–6).”

    From Ayahuasca-assisted meaning reconstruction therapy for grief: a non-randomized clinical trial protocol (2025) · cites this paper as [6]

    The Discussion reports significantly greater early mortality among parents after a child’s death and describes associations between bereavement and physical and mental health problems; the Conclusions likewise note lasting health consequences. The paper does not establish an increased suicide risk for the mourner, and its findings about bereaved parents do not establish the same risks after the loss of any first-degree family member. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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  1. World Health Organization & International Conference for the Ninth Revision of the International Classification of Diseases (1975: Geneva) (1977). Manual of the international statistical classification of diseases, injuries, and causes of death: based on the recommendations of the ninth revision conference, 1975, and adopted by the Twenty-ninth World Health Assembly, 1975 revision. Geneva: World Health Organization.

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Authors
Song, J., Mailick, M. R., Greenberg, J. S., & Floyd, F. J.
Affiliations
  • University of Wisconsin–Madison (US)
  • University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (US)
Corresponding author
Song, Jieun
ORCID
Song, Jieun
Venue
Social Science & Medicine
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2019-10
Volume
239
Pages
112522
ISSN
0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.112522
PMC
PMC6802289
OpenAlex
W2970459431
Cited by
46
References
29
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 2
FWCI
3.21
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (P01-AG020166)
  • MacArthur Foundation
  • Waisman Center
  • University of Wisconsin-Madison (P30 HD03352, U54 HD090256)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Anthropology › Death, Funerary Practices, and Mourning
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
Keywords
parental bereavement, death of a child, early mortality, bereaved parents, heart disease mortality, twin concordance, genetic confounding, MIDUS
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Bereavement, Cause of Death, Child, Child, Preschool, Death, Female, Humans, Infant, Infant, Newborn, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Middle Aged, Parents, Risk Factors, Sex Factors, Twins, Mortality, Premature

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