Divorce and Death: A Meta-Analysis and Research Agenda for Clinical, Social, and Health Psychology.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective observational cohort studies.
PubMed 26168197 · doi:10.1177/1745691611414724
What was done
A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted across 32 prospective studies from 11 countries, encompassing over 6.5 million individuals, 755,000 divorces, and 160,000 deaths. The analysis assessed the association between marital separation or divorce and all-cause mortality relative to married individuals.
What was found
Separated and divorced adults exhibited a statistically significant increase in risk for all-cause early death compared to married counterparts. The risk of early death following marital dissolution was significantly higher for men than for women, and higher for younger adults than for older adults. Specific point estimates, hazard ratios, and confidence intervals were not reported in the abstract.
Why it matters
This paper consolidates fragmented sociological, epidemiological, and psychological literature to quantify the mortality risks associated with marital dissolution. It provides an empirical foundation for investigating causal pathways such as social selection, economic disruption, health behavior changes, and chronic distress.
Limits
The abstract does not provide numerical effect sizes, confidence intervals, or heterogeneity metrics. As a synthesis of observational cohort studies, the findings may be subject to residual confounding, and the abstract does not report adjustments for baseline health or socioeconomic status.
Cited by
- supports The mortality risk associated with divorce is significantly higher for men than for women.