TABLE 3—
Effect of Deceased Partner’s Primary Care Consultations in the Year Before Death on the Surviving Spouse’s Mortality in the First Year After Bereavement: United Kingdom, 2005–2010
| Deceased Partner’s Consultations per Year | Bereavements, No. (%) | Deaths Within 1 Year of Bereavement, No. (%) | Adjusted Effect,a HR (95% CI) | P |
| Bereaved men only | 9132 (100) | .059b | ||
| Lowc (0–4) | 1030 (11.3) | 69 (6.7) | 1.60 (1.23, 2.09) | |
| Higherc (≥ 5) | 8102 (88.7) | 450 (5.6) | 1.22 (1.11, 1.34) | |
| Bereaved women only | 17 514 (100) | .067b | ||
| Lowc (0–4) | 1915 (10.9) | 68 (3.6) | 1.57 (1.22, 2.00) | |
| Higherc (≥ 5) | 15 599 (89.1) | 484 (3.1) | 1.22 (1.12, 1.34) | |
| All bereavements | 26 646 (100) | .01b | ||
| Lowc (0–4) | 2945 (11.0) | 137 (4.7) | 1.59 (1.32, 1.91) | |
| Higherc (≥ 5) | 23 701 (89.0) | 934 (3.9) | 1.23 (1.15, 1.31) |
Note. CI = confidence interval; HR = hazard ratio. The sample size was n = 171 720 couples.
a
Model adjusted for following personal factors: age, region, smoking, household composition, Townsend Index, Charlson Index (time dependent), and winter compared with mortality in nonbereaved couples.
b
Test for heterogeneity.
c
Partner consultation days in 365 days before death.