The short-term and long-term effects of divorce on mortality risk in a large Finnish cohort, 1990-2003

Niina Metsä-Simola and Pekka Martikainen

Population Studies, 2013, vol. 67, issue 1, 97-110

Abstract: This study investigated time patterns of post-divorce excess mortality. Using register-based data, we followed 252,641 married Finns from 1990 until subsequent date of divorce and death until 2003. Among men, excess mortality is highest immediately after divorce, followed by a decline over 8 years. Among women, excess mortality shows little variation over time, and is lower than among men at all durations of divorce. Social and economic factors-largely adjustment for post-divorce factors-explain about half of the excess mortality. This suggests that excess mortality is partly mediated through poor social and economic resources. Mortality attributable to accidental, violent, and alcohol-related causes is pronounced shortly after divorce. It shows a strong pattern of reduction over the next 4 years among divorced men, and is high for only 6 months after divorce among divorced women. These findings emphasize the importance of short-term psychological distress, particularly among men.

Date: 2013
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DOI: 10.1080/00324728.2012.746386

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