Stress researchers place the death of a spouse at the top of the list when ranking the severity of stressful life events. Widowhood can undermine mental health and physical health, and even contribute to mortality. Widowed women are 27 percent more likely than married women of the same age to die, whereas widowed men are 47 percent more likely than married men of the same age to die. In addition to the psychological toll the death of a spouse can bring on, the deceased spouse may also have played a role in monitoring the spouse's health and in providing medical treatment and assistance to him or her. These factors contribute to the higher mortality rates of the widowed as compared with the married.

Women are much more likely than men to lose a spouse. Among sixty-five- to seventy-four-year-olds, 39 percent of women and 9 percent of men are widowed; among those aged seventy-five and older, 67 percent of women and 23 percent of men are widowed.