The writer is a science commentatorThe late Queen Elizabeth II spent the last 16 months of her life mourning the loss of Prince Philip, her beloved consort of 73 years whom she called her “strength and stay”. The sovereign’s sorrow reminded me of my mother’s grief at losing my father, her husband and chief tea-maker for 52 years. Mum has not drunk a drop of tea in the two years since.
The death of a spouse is not merely a psychological trauma: evidence suggests it can measurably harm the physical health of the surviving partner. While it is never possible to determine the exact role that bereavement plays in the long-term health of a specific individual, large-scale studies point to a phenomenon called the “widowhood effect”, in which the risk of a person dying rises after their spouse passes away.
The findings form part of an emerging field of research called psychoneuroimmunology, focused on how psychological distress can trigger physical changes. That the sorrow of parting can leave its calling card in our bodies suggests that mental and physical health are more closely connected than many of us believe.