Divorce → All-cause mortality
Higher divorce increases all-cause mortality.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of older adults found that divorced or separated people were more likely to die than married people, with a risk ratio of 1.16.
Meta-analysis · Moderate · N=53
The two move together in observational data. Nobody has yet tested whether one causes the other.
Mechanism
The authors name no pathway, so why divorce or separation would go with earlier death is not stated here.
Caveats
The pooled studies covered elderly people and compared them with married individuals. Widowed and never married people had a similar excess, with risk ratios of 1.11 each, so the pattern is not specific to divorce. Pooled observational data show that the two track together and do not show that divorce causes death.
Effect
Risk ratio 1.16 (95% CI 1.09 to 1.23). Divorced or separated older adults had a risk ratio of death of 1.16 (1.09 to 1.23) against married people.
Nodes
Cite this page
What Causes What. “Divorce → All-cause mortality.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-divorce-mortality (atlas updated 2026-10-18).
Papers
- Marital status and mortality in the elderly: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
L Manzoli, P Villari, G M Pirone, A Boccia · 2007 · Social science & medicine (1982)
elderly individuals · Risk ratio 1.16 (95% CI 1.09 to 1.23)