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Morbidity following Sudden and Unexpected Bereavement

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

Tom Lundin
Tom Lundin*
Affiliation:
University Hospital, 75185 Uppsala, Sweden
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Summary

With the help of data on the registered days of sickness per year, a study was made of a group of relatives (n = 32) who had suffered sudden and unexpected bereavement to determine whether this resulted in an increase in morbidity in the two-year period following the loss, compared with the previous two years. A comparison was made with a control group of relatives who had also suffered bereavement but where the deaths were not unexpected. Increased morbidity, especially psychiatric morbidity, was found following sudden and unexpected bereavement but not in the control group. It is concluded that persons exposed to sudden and unexpected loss of a close relative are subject to increased psychiatric morbidity and should be regarded as a high-risk group.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 144 , Issue 1 , January 1984 , pp. 84 - 88
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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