A UK friend of mine told me they had to move his granddad into a home because he lived on cold, baked beans on toast and was basically malnourished. That's not a pleasant conversation to have with a beloved relative.

>Seems more likely the men just spiral into unhealthy habits without someone to cook, clean, and take care of them.

It is very wrong to assume the only reason why these husbands die shortly after is because they lost their ‘servants’. In fact I laughed. Loneliness and social isolation is a terribly strong factor for diseases.

The more isolated people are, the less happy they are, and brain function declines as well as physical health.

“The people who were the most satisfied in their relationships at age 50 were the healthiest at age 80,” says Robert Waldinger, a psychology professor at Harvard Medical School.Those who kept warm relationships got to live longer and happier, said Waldinger, and the loners often died earlier. “Loneliness kills,” he said. “It’s as powerful as smoking or alcoholism.”.

But I don’t know if unhealthy habits make you die within a year. Stress and a heart attack might

[removed]

What a heartless thing to say of someone who loses their spouse in old age. I hope my future grandkids have more empathy.

This study also measured an acute thing with the increased mortality inside one year.