TABLE 4—
Effect of Deceased Partner’s Medication Use in the Year Before Death on the Surviving Spouse’s Mortality in the First Year After Bereavement: United Kingdom, 2005–2010
| Deceased Partner’s Drug Classes per Year | Bereavements, No. (%) | Deaths Within 1 Year of Bereavement, No. (%) | Adjusted Effect,a HR (95% CI) | P |
| Bereaved men only | 9132 (100) | .76b | ||
| Lowc (0–5) | 1015 (11.1) | 51 (5.0) | 1.31 (1.00, 1.72) | |
| Higherc (≥ 6) | 8117 (88.9) | 468 (5.8) | 1.25 (1.14, 1.38) | |
| Bereaved women only | 17 514 (100) | .001b | ||
| Lowc (0–5) | 2040 (11.7) | 77 (3.8) | 1.83 (1.44, 2.33) | |
| Higherc (≥ 6) | 15 474 (88.4) | 475 (3.1) | 1.20 (1.09, 1.32) | |
| All bereavements | 26 646 (100) | .019b | ||
| Lowc (0–5) | 3055 (11.5) | 128 (4.2) | 1.58 (1.30, 1.91) | |
| Higherc (≥ 6) | 23 591 (88.5) | 943 (4.0) | 1.23 (1.15, 1.32) |
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
Number of drug classes prescribed to partner in 365 days before death.