AI Article Synopsis
- This paper examines how losing a spouse impacts the health of middle-aged and older individuals in China, highlighting increased risks of depression, chronic diseases, and pain.
- The negative effects of widowhood are immediate for mental health and daily activities, while the impact on chronic diseases appears later, and cognitive issues can persist over time.
- Rural widows face greater health challenges due to economic difficulties and increased caregiving responsibilities, indicating a need for improved economic support for older adults, especially rural women, to mitigate these adverse health effects.
Article Abstract
This paper analyzes the impact of widowhood on the health of mid-aged and older individuals in China using data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data. Our results show that widowhood significantly increases the risk of depression, chronic diseases, and body pain while reducing cognitive function, sleeping time, and daily activity functions. The effects on depression and daily functions are immediate, that on chronic diseases is lagged, and the effects on cognitive function and sleeping hours persist over time. We find that rural widows are particularly vulnerable to negative health outcomes due to their weaker economic positions, for whom widowhood leads to more grandchild care responsibility and corresponding workforce and social withdrawals. Moreover, rural widows' income loss is not compensated by children, either by co-residence or financial transfers, leading to reduced living standards. Overall, our findings suggest that China needs to strengthen economic security for older people, especially among rural women, in order to avoid significant negative consequences of widowhood.
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| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10306321 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2023.100458 | DOI Listing |
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