Unavoidable life event that affects MILLIONS of people linked to premature death, experts warn
The findings come from a Danish study of 1,735 bereaved relatives, with an average age of 62, which looked at the link between mortality and intensity of grief.
Researchers measured how intensely people experienced grief by using the Prolonged Grief-13 Scale.
The bereaved with the highest intensity grief that persisted had double the risk of premature death over ten years.
This was in comparison to those who reported experiencing the lowest levels of grief after losing a loved one.
Researchers don't know the exact cause of the increased mortality observed in those with high levels of grief.
But lead author of the study, Dr Mette Kjærgaard Nielsen, a public health expert at Aarhus University said: 'We have previously found a connection between high grief symptom levels and higher rates of cardiovascular disease, mental health problems, and even suicide.'
They also found those with the most intense grief had been prescribed mental health treatment before they lost a loved one.
So, Dr Nielsen told MedicalExpress: 'A GP could look for previous signs of depression and other severe mental health conditions.'
This would allow them to refer them to the relevant secondary care or follow-up bereavement appointments focusing on mental health, she advised.
The study which started in 2012, followed participants who were of an average age of 62 for ten years.
It identified five 'grief trajectories' that categorised how participants experienced their grief.
The most common, experienced by 38 per cent, was 'persistently low levels of grief symptoms'.
Then nearly a fifth had 'high but decreasing' symptoms, while 29 per cent had 'moderate but decreasing' grief.
Another nine per cent of participants began with lower levels of grief that increased, peaking at six months, before reducing.
The six per cent with highest grief' symptoms that persisted over time, were those with a higher risk of an early death.
Previously experts warned found that grief can cause broken heart syndrome, also known as takotsubo cardiomyopathy
The life-threatening phenomenon, which affects around 2,500 Brits every year, is a reaction by the heart to a sudden release of stress hormones.
This causes part of the heart to become temporarily enlarged and struggle to pump blood properly.
Experts say it can cause the same symptoms and complications as a heart attack, which can be life-threatening.
However, unlike those who suffer heart attacks, broken heart syndrome is not linked with blocked arteries.
But it can be misdiagnosed as a heart attack, stopping patients from receiving the right treatment.
Previously MailOnline reported that scientists based at the University of Aberdeen claimed the syndrome is not being treated correctly.
Their five-year-study, based on 4,000 people in Scotland showed around a quarter of patients with the condition died.
Analysis also showed that drugs used to prevent heart attacks did not improve the survival rate of takotsubo cardiomyopathy, despite being the go-to treatment.
Their findings came after the ex-partner of Sinead O'Connor insisted that the star, 56, died of a broken 'broken heart'.
Her son Shane took his own life 18 months before the singer passed. Officially, her death certificate states she died of natural causes.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
27 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
My boyfriend said the unthinkable in a supermarket and now I can't forgive him - am I wrong?
A grieving girlfriend has shared her devastation after her boyfriend made a heartless 'joke' at the supermarket. However, the throwaway comment wasn't a knock-knock gag - it was about her recent miscarriage. Sharing her experience online, the woman said she collapsed in the middle of the cereal aisle after her partner mocked her loss, just weeks after she tragically miscarried at 11 weeks pregnant. In a now-deleted post on Reddit, the young woman described a seemingly normal trip to the supermarket with her partner before things took a turn. When he spotted a pregnant woman across the aisle, he nudged her and laughed before turning to her and saying 'could've been you if your body worked right'. In absolute shock and clearly hurt by the comment, she detailed that her body's initial reaction was to collapse in tears. 'He carried me to the car, still grinning,' she recalled. 'Jesus, can't you take a joke? It's not like it was a real baby yet,' he cruelly uttered as they walked. The shocking post has quickly gone viral with thousands of likes and an outpouring of support from users who were appalled by her boyfriend's behaviour. In Australia, one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage, most often before 12 weeks. Despite how common it is, many women suffer in silence due to shame, stigma, or a lack of public understanding. According to a report from Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney in March this year, it is estimated that over 100,000 families experience miscarriage annually in Australia. Many told her to 'run, not walk' from the relationship, branding his actions cruel and unforgivable. 'Even if he didn't have a connection to the baby, he should have enough of one with the woman he impregnated to understand she is in pain,' one user replied. 'Miscarriage is something that happens to more women than we realise,' another empathised. 'It takes a long time to get over a pregnancy because of all the hormones. What he did was unacceptable and cruel.' Hundreds of women offered their own perspective on pregnancy loss in the comments. 'No, you're not overreacting and he's not processing his grief differently - he doesn't know how to process it at all,' one said. 'He didn't have a connection to the baby like you did. It wasn't something growing inside him.' The woman added that her boyfriend has since started sulking, claiming she embarrassed him in public. And in an interesting twist, her best friend tried to excuse the remark, saying he simply 'processes grief differently'. But thousands disagreed. 'Get rid of him now,' one demanded. 'And share that story Every. Single. Time someone asks you why you broke up. I am so sorry.' 'He's so immature that I don't see how an adult person could want to pursue a romantic relationship with him,' said another. Beyond the physical recovery, many women experience grief, anxiety and depression in the months following a miscarriage, only made worse by insensitive or dismissive reactions from others. If you or someone you know is grieving a miscarriage or pregnancy loss, help is available through organisations like the Pink Elephants support network, Miscarriage Australia and red Nose Australia.
Times
3 hours ago
- Times
The pressure to breastfeed my premature baby nearly broke me
I thought breastfeeding would be easy. Birth I knew could be very difficult, but breastfeeding? That, I assumed, would happen as naturally for me as it had for my mother. I would feed my baby serenely and with ease, like one of those lactating Madonnas. No one talked to me about the pain; none of the mothers I knew. Not even the breastfeeding expert who led our NCT session, during which no potential challenges were mentioned. (I suspect she thought she might 'spook' us into not trying.) So why, when I fed my son, did it feel like my nipples were being pierced with shards of glass? Why did I so often gasp, burst into tears and, on a couple of occasions, even scream in pain?
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Daily Mail
The doctor will see you online now! A third of GP consultations are now carried out remotely
One in three GP appointments is now carried out remotely - the highest proportion since the pandemic. The latest NHS England figures show 33.3 per cent of consultations were conducted over the phone or online in June. This is up from 30.9 per cent a year earlier and 28.3 per cent in June 2023. Patient groups described the 'slipping back into old ways' as 'very worrying' and warned serious diseases such as cancer are once again at increased risk of being missed. But family doctors said remote consultations 'offer convenience and flexibility that many patients value', and the majority of appointments are still delivered face to face. As many as four in 10 appointments were carried out by phone or online during the pandemic, but the proportion fell once the impact of Covid-19 eased and had dropped to 27.7 per cent in January 2023. In the past two years the figure has risen slowly but steadily, driven by a sharp increase in consultations taking place online. These accounted for only 1.5 per cent of all GP appointments in June 2023 but had jumped to 4.9 per cent by June 2024 and 8.0 per cent in June this year. This has helped push up the combined figure for phone and online appointments to its current post-pandemic high. The figure just for telephone appointments has remained broadly unchanged over this period, at about 25 per cent. Dennis Reed, director of Silver Voices, which campaigns for elderly Britons, said: 'These figures showing GPs slipping back into old ways are very worrying. 'Phone and online appointments are more convenient for the doctors, so receptionists are keen to push people down that route but is is manifestly unsafe. 'I'm still hearing from people who are told they can have a telephone appointment the same day or the next day but they will have to wait two weeks if they want to be seen face-to-face - that's not a fair choice and it's why I think there should be a legal right to a timely in-person appointment for anyone who wants one. 'Remote appointments exclude people who cannot access technology or are not able or comfortable using it. 'And remote appointments prevent GPs from assessing the entire patient and their overall health. 'If you are doing a video consultation they can only see the bit of you on the screen and if it is via telephone it is even worse - as they only have your voice to go on. 'With in-person appointments, the GP is assessing how you present when you walk in the door and as you sit down. They can spot things they would not see remotely. 'I'm concerned about serious diseases, such as cancer, being missed as a result of this rise in remote care.' Professor Kamila Hawthorne, chairwoman of the Royal College of GPs (RCGP), said: 'Remote consultations, whether delivered over the phone or via video, can offer convenience and flexibility that many patients value, and evidence has shown that in the vast majority of cases, remote care is safe. 'Often a GP might initially consult with a patient remotely and then ask them to come into the practice if it's necessary to see them in person. 'However, we also know that many patients prefer to access their care in-person, and this is how the majority of appointments are still delivered. 'Over the last 12 months, GPs and their teams have delivered a record-breaking number of appointments, and nearly 250 million were carried out in person.' Some 63.3 per cent of GP appointments in June in England were in person, data shows, down from 65.3 per cent a year earlier and 68.4 per cent in June 2023. Online appointments include those carried out using live chat tools or non-video apps, as well as video-based calls. The proportion of appointments taking place by phone or online varies across the regions, with the figures for June ranging from 38.2 per cent in London to 28.4 per cent in North East and Yorkshire. Professor Hawthorne said the college 'supports a mixed-method approach to delivering care' in general practice and decisions on how appointments are carried out are between clinicians and patients. 'What's key is that when GPs are consulting with their patients remotely, they have access to the robust and up-to-date IT systems that allows them to do so safely and effectively,' she added. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'This Government is clear that patients should have access to health and care when they need it and people who prefer a face-to-face appointment should have one, so we are transforming the NHS app to make managing your healthcare online easy and flexible.' An NHS England spokesperson said: 'Every GP practice must offer face-to-face appointments where patients want or need them, and many patients choose remote appointments where it is clinically appropriate and more convenient for them. 'GP teams are working hard to offer better access for patients, with a record number of appointments being carried out in the last year and recent findings showing the number of patients who are satisfied with their practice has improved.'
