Almost instantly after a man's wife dies, his risk of hospitalization spikes.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

IPleadTheFifthHat Retweeted by IPleadTheFifthHat: https://twitter.com/Popehat

Almost instantly after a man's wife dies, his risk of hospitalization spikes (and other health quality indicators also show problems). This is illustrated by the case with President Bush at the moment. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1353%2Fdem.0.0066 … 7/

Link to tweet

[RandySF]

1. My dad came down with pneumonia three months after mom passed

Thankfully he got through it.

[HopeAgain]

2. I already told my wife that I have to die first...

After 32 years and counting, I'd rather not go through that.

[cbreezen]

3. This is true, however, sepsis isn't caused by a broken heart. nt

[Nitram]

6. Lowered immune function can be an important factor in sepsis. The death of someone close is a huge

shock to the system. Stress reduces immune function significantly.

[Ohiogal]

4. In my parents' generation

The wife always "took care" of the husband, saw to it that he had a clean house, good meals, kept doctors' appointments, etc. And many older men don't have much of a social life so they depend upon their wives to be their social interaction. Take away all that, and you have a very lonely life ..... of course this is not true in all cases, but I've read that it happens a lot.

[BillyBobBrilliant]

5. I've escaped that twice now

But, this most recent time, I was a bit worried, as it is not an easy thing.

[no_hypocrisy]

7. Not my father.

The week after Mom died, all the toilet seats were up. He outlived her by 10+ years and he enjoyed being a bachelor and hired a maid.

[3Hotdogs]

8. Toffler's "Future Shock" pointed out this phenomena. However, it is not just death of a spouce.

Any major change in life circumstances can lead to illness. Even positive changes.

A guy in my town died 5 months after winning the lottery,