Spouse bereavement and brain pathologies: A propensity score matching study

When does bereavement contribute to cognitive functioning decline in older adults? This is a question the field of grief research is grappling with, and the newest contribution from Kim and colleagues in the KBASE Research Group sheds new light. A handful of papers suggest there is a relationship, and in the Kim et al. (2022) paper, 59 older spousally bereaved are very well matched with healthy controls. Widowhood revealed comparatively higher cerebral white matter hyperintensity (WMH) volume, notably in the older (>75 years) subgroup. The study clarifies that widowhood at >60 years has a greater effect, which is to say that WM injury depends not only on the age of bereavement but also on current age. However, I interpret the fact that the effect was greatest among those with no- or low-skill occupations as suggesting that there is some diathesis as well.

Bringing to bear the increasing knowledge that bereavement increases cardiovascular events, this article contributes to the theory that increasing cerebrovascular injury may affect brain and cognitive health as well. What the study fails to address is whether these are also the widow(er)s with the highest grief severity. Is loneliness a component of the decline, or is it restricted to widowhood specifically? We need to move toward intervention as well—could progressive muscle relaxation or other stress-related interventions prevent any of these cardiovascular (and thus neurobiological) impacts? These are the type of questions best addressed by those who are steering our field toward the future, and not just replicating what is increasingly already known.