Stahl Sarah T, Schulz Richard
Department of Psychiatry, University Center for Social and Urban Research, University of Pittsburgh, 3343 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA,
J Behav Med. 2014 Aug;37(4):806-17. doi: 10.1007/s10865-013-9532-7. Epub 2013 Aug 22.
This prospective study examined the effect of widowhood on physical activity by comparing widowed elders to health status-, age-, and sex-matched married controls. Participants included 396 married controls and 396 widows/widowers age 64-91 (M age = 72.7 years) who experienced the death of their spouse while participating in the Cardiovascular Health Study. Compared to married controls, widowed men, but not women, were more likely to increase their physical activity following the death of their spouse. However, this increased level of activity was not sustained and declines as time since spousal death passes. Moreover, during the year before spousal death, soon-to-be widowed men, but not women, increase their physical activity. Our results suggest that widowed men experience significant changes in physical activity and that the transition to widowhood contribute to these changes.
这项前瞻性研究通过将丧偶老年人与健康状况、年龄和性别相匹配的已婚对照者进行比较，考察了丧偶对身体活动的影响。参与者包括396名已婚对照者以及396名年龄在64 - 91岁（平均年龄 = 72.7岁）的寡妇/鳏夫，他们在参与心血管健康研究期间经历了配偶死亡。与已婚对照者相比，丧偶男性而非女性在配偶死亡后更有可能增加身体活动。然而，这种增加的活动水平并未持续，随着配偶死亡时间的推移而下降。此外，在配偶死亡前的一年里，即将丧偶的男性而非女性增加了身体活动。我们的结果表明，丧偶男性在身体活动方面经历了显著变化，而向丧偶状态的转变促成了这些变化。
