Scientists have long described the detrimental impacts of losing a spouse. These effects, which are physical as well as emotional, can be so strong that married people sometimes die a short amount of time apart from each other: what's known as the widowhood effect. Now, a large new study has uncovered patterns within these trends. Here are three of the most interesting findings from the research, which followed nearly a million Danish citizens for up to six years.

• Though the risk of death within the first year of losing a spouse increases for everyone, it actually decreases within the first weeks following their death. The study doesn't theorize why, but experts who weren't involved with the research think that this could potentially reflect the short period of increased support from friends and family that mourners often experience.
• The risk of death in the first year of widowhood is a lot larger for men than it is for women. Women are, in part, just more resilient, experts say.
• People in their 60s are much more susceptible to the widowhood effect than those in their 70s and older. It’s possible that this could be tied to the fact that deaths before age 70 are less likely to involve the type of drawn-out caregiving process that can allow spouses to begin processing their grief even before they’ve lost their partner.

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