People who experienced the death of a parent while they were children appear to be more likely to die prematurely themselves, according to new research.
These findings, published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine, indicate a need for greater and longer-lasting support for children and teenagers dealing with the death of a parent, the study authors said.
Indeed, the heightened death risk persisted up to two decades after bereavement. Public health professionals, they wrote, must take this information - the first of its kind - into account "when considering clinical responses and public health strategies."
"Parental death in childhood was associated with a long-lasting increased mortality risk from both external causes and diseases, regardless of child's age at bereavement, sex of the child, sex of the deceased parent, cause of parental death, as well as population characteristics like socioeconomic background," study author wrote. "[These] findings warrant the need for health and social support to the bereaved children and such support may need to cover an extended time period."
The team analyzed data on children born in Denmark, Finland and Sweden between 1968 and 2008. Nearly 190,000 children were between 6 months and 18 years when one of their parents died. During a follow-up period ranging from one to 40 years, almost 40,000 of those people died.
The overall mortality rate for boys and men was more than double that for girls and women, but losing a parent increased that risk by a similar amount for both sexes - 54% for males and 43% for females, the researchers reported.
The researchers said their findings show the need for health and social support for children and teens who have lost a parent, and added that this support may be necessary for a long time.
