Citation

Li CS, Lee JH, Liu CC, Chan YL, Wen C, Chiu ML, Tsai MK, Tsai SP, Wai JP, Tsao CK, Wu X, Wen CP. Medicine (Baltimore) 2016; 95(32): e4413.

Affiliation

aDepartment of Risk Management and Insurance, National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Kaohsiung bDepartment of International Business, Asia University, Taichung cInstitute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan dDepartment of Risk Management and Insurance, Feng Chia University, Taichung, Taiwan eDepartment of Radiological Sciences, University of California at Irvine, Irvine, CA fDepartment of Public Health, China Medical University, Liaoning gInstitute of Sport Science, National Taiwan Sport University, Taoyuan hMJ Health Management Institution, Taipei, Taiwan iDepartment of Epidemiology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX jChina Medical University Hospital, Taichung and Institute of Population Health Sciences, National Health Research Institutes, Zhunan.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/MD.0000000000004413

PMID

27755472

Abstract

Widowhood has been increasingly encountered because of increasing longevity of women, often characterized by social stigmatization and poor physical and mental health. However, applied research to overcome its adversity has been quite limited. The goal of this study is to explore the role of physical activity in improving the health of widows.A cohort of 446,582 adults in Taiwan who successively participated in a comprehensive medical screening program starting in 1994, including 232,788 women, was followed up for mortality until 2008. Each individual provided detailed health history, and extensive lab tests results.The number of widows increased with time trend. Every other woman above age 65 was a widow (44%). Widows were less active, more obese, and smoked and drank more, had sleep problems, were more depressed with taking sedatives or psychoactive drugs, leading to more suicides. In the global development of health policies by World Health Organization (WHO), physical activity is one of the main factors to reverse poor health. The poor health of inactive widow was mitigated when becoming fully active in this study. Exercise not only reduced the observed 18% increase in all-cause mortality, but also gained 4 years and as much as 14% mortality advantage over the married but inactive. More importantly, becoming physically active energized their mental status, improved sleep quality and quantity, reduced depressions and the need for psychoactive drugs, and increased socialization circles.Widows, a rapidly growing and socially stigmatized group, suffered from social and financial inequality and tended to develop poorer health. Sustained physical activity could be one of the ways for them to overcome and reverse some of the physical and mental adversities of widowhood, and improve their quality and quantity of life.

Language: en