Widowhood and functional impairment

Gender-specific trajectories of sensory and masticatory functions

Datos Bibliográficos

ID11199950
AutoresKyungeun Song (0009-0000-7718-2867, Korea University), Jinho Kim (0000-0002-4675-4612, University of Wisconsin–Madison, autor de correspondencia)
Año2024
Volumen44
Número1
Páginas104-121
Fecha de publicación2024-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaAgeing and Society (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0144-686X • E-ISSN: 1469-1779
EditorialCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0144686x23000557
OpenAlexW4385996377
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas7
Referencias citadas51

Despite a large body of research on the effects of widowhood on health, little is known about whether spousal loss is related to functional impairment in widowed persons. This study examines the trajectories of functional impairment (sensory and masticatory functions) before and after spousal loss. This study also investigates whether the temporal changes in functional impairment of widowed people are gendered. Using data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing over seven waves (42,967 person-observations), this study estimated fixed effects regression models to account for unobserved individual-level heterogeneity. Gender-stratified fixed effects regression models were used to determine whether changes in functional impairment associated with spousal loss differ by gender. The results of this study indicated that the vision of widowed people began to decrease within the first year following spousal loss and persisted through the fourth and subsequent years. By contrast, mastication deterioration occurred only among widowers. Masticatory impairment began during the first year of spousal loss and lasted the entire survey period. No statistically significant reduction in hearing loss was found for both widowers and widows. The results of this study suggest that spousal loss has a long-term effect on functional impairment, particularly in vision and masticatory functions. This study also documents gender heterogeneity in the trajectories of functional impairment before and after spousal loss. Vision impairment was found to be universal among widowers and widows, whereas masticatory impairment was significant only among widows. To address the physical and psychological vulnerability of widowed people, policies should be developed early in the process of adjusting to widowhood

Audiology · Functional impairment · Longitudinal data · Longitudinal study · Mastication · Masticatory force · Sensory loss · Clinical Psychology · Demography · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health · Health disparities and outcomes · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Medicine · Psychology · Gerontology