People who recently lost a husband are more likely to have sleep disturbances that exacerbate inflammatory levels in the body and these elevated levels of inflammation can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and death, researchers found.
The study compared the self-reported sleep habits of newly-married persons to a control group. Both groups had sleep disorders, such as insomnia. The researchers found that the relationship between sleep disorders and inflammation was two to three times higher for surviving spouses.
The corresponding author Diana Chirinos said the study suggests that these lost individuals are more susceptible to the adverse health effects of poor sleep. 1
9659002] “A wife’s death is an acute stressful event and they have to adapt to living without the support of their husbands,” she said. “Add sleep disorders to your already stressful situation and you double the stressor. Therefore, their immune system is more overactivated.”
Chirinos said she and her co-researchers already knew that widows had higher levels of inflammation. Previous work showed that the first six months after the loss of a husband, widows and widowers with 41 percent are more likely to be mortality and 53 percent of this increased risk is due to cardiovascular disease. However, they wanted to find the specific reason.
Published: November 10, 2018, 15:09